The Guardian
by Kateyes085
Summary: When Dean's world has fallen apart, he revisits a place and person from his past for shelter and the strength he needs to go on.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The Guardian**  
**Author: kateyes085**  
**Pairings:** Dean/OFC; subjective to mention of any and all characters up to and including through 4.22  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Word Count:** 4,944  
**Summary:** When Dean's world has fallen apart, he revisits a place and person from his past for shelter and the strength he needs to go on. **Warnings: Overall: Eventually heterosexual relationship. Cursing, the usual, blood, guts and mayhem. **  
**Disclaimer**: All stories posted are not for profit and are works of fiction. The Owens are mine.

**Beta**: In one way or another all of my PLs (blynnk, ellydee27, jolinarmalkshur, vampirebites13) were involved. I love you all! *kisses & smishes* blynnk & jolinarmalkshur were my final editors.

Feedback is love and honest criticisms are appreciated.

~*~

"You're doin' it wrong Sammy," Lizzie screeched. "Stop it! You're gonna kill 'em."

Sammy informed her, "No I'm not! Dean said …"

"Psfst! What does Dean know? He's just a big ol' meanie. Gampa said ya' hafta hold 'em gently in your hands or you'll crush 'em," Lizzie insisted in a superior tone. She glared at Sammy up through her lashes when she blew a wayward chestnut curl out of her eye. Her hair never stayed in place. _Blast it!_

Sammy gasped and sputtered still holding his hands closed but not as tightly. "What does Dean know? He knows everythin', well not everything, but I mean Dad I'm sure knows how to … why're you scrunching your nose like that?" He asked scrunching his nose, mimicking her, as he opened his hands for her to see their treasure. He rubbed his unoccupied, sweaty, grimy hand on the pant leg of his too big shorts which were also smeared with grass stains and dirt.

"I don't like your Daddy. He gets mean like mine does when he drinks the beer in the fridge." She whispered to Sammy, putting her hand on his arm to lessen the sting of the truth. Sammy knew his Dad drank _a lot_. He could smell it all the time, sour and bitter. Dean always made things better. He always took care of him, made sure he was ready for school, cooked him dinner, and even made sure that he had his favorite cereal, Lucky Charms. His Dad probably didn't even know what his favorite cereal was.

His hazel eyes looked so sad when he mumbled, "I'mma sorry," to Lizzie as he placed their find in her hand for her to hold for a while. The wind was picking up and tousling his shaggy brown curls.

She smiled up at him "S' not your fault, Sammy. At least you have Dean. I don't have big brother to take care of me. But, I do have my Gampa." She beams with a huge smile on her face. "Even if he is married to Gran." She grumbled. "Nothin' I do is ever right. I get so mad some times, ya' know?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he answered. Because he did know. His Dad was always correcting him and yelling at him too.

They were both heavily contemplating as only children can, and did not hear the rustling in the trees above.

All of a sudden, Dean jumped down from the tree overhead. "Whatcha doin'!" he thundered as he landed, crouched in front of them then standing with his hands his hips. Sunlight glinted off his dark blonde hair cropped closely to his head. His green eyes were twinkling with mischief.

"Dean! You made me drop it! You make me so mad!!! Don't you have somethin' to do?" Lizzie fumed at him stomping her foot, mimicking his stance while she glared up at him.

Sammy was laughing at them both from where he was sitting on the fallen tree trunk. Dean was always picking on Lizzie. She was so tiny too. Smaller even than even Sammy was and she was _older_ than him. Didn't stop her though. She stood up to anyone. He liked her a whole lot.

Lizzie proceeded to ignore Dean. She rolled her eyes at him, wiped off her hands on her shorts, pushed her hair out of her eyes, again. She sat back down with Sammy again.

Dean crouched again to see what they are doing and just could not resist antagonizing Lizzie some more. "Nah, I just like watchin' you get pissed off, Mouse." Dean winked and pulled on her pigtail.

"Quit it! Don't call me that, you creep!" She slapped his hand away. "Dean Michael Winchester! You are so annoying, go away!" She jumped up and kicked him in the shin. He yelped in pain grabbing his shin. She pushed him out of her way, trying to run off, but he lost his balance, fell backwards, trying to grab her to stop his fall but ended up pulling her down on top of him.

"Damn it, Mouse! If you don't…" Dean started to curse.

Lizzie gasped. Her eyes were huge. She put her little hands over her mouth, hanging open in exclamation. "Shhhh!" She put her hands over his mouth before he can utter another word. "They'll hear you! You shouldna' say bad words, Dean. You'll get inta trouble." Her green-violet eyes got impossibly big and her bottom lip quivered.

Dean looked up at her in awe. _She really does look like one of those cherubs in the paintings in Pastor Jim's church._ Almond-shaped eyes looking so innocent and concerned for him; flushed round chubby cheeks, cupid-bow lips, all of that framed by chestnut waves and curls that never stay where she wants them to.

He blushed at his thoughts and scoffed, "So, that's nothing new," he said, full of bravado.

"I don't wanna see ya' getta whippin' s'all." She says matter-of-factly, but blushes nonetheless. He smirked up at her. She just rolled her eyes at him and shook her head.

Sammy got up from where he is sitting and ran over with a big smile on his face, telling Lizzie, "I got one. See, I told you I could do it." He shoved his small hands in Dean's face while Dean was trying to sit up with a lap full of Lizzie.

"Whatcha got there, Sammy?" Dean asked and Sammy opens his hands to show him. On his palm sat a ladybug walking back and forth fluttering her wings.

"A ladybug, Sammy? Seriously? You coulda at least have dug up a worm or somethin'." Dean mocked him, but tousels his hair with affection to lessen his jab.

"Ewww! You're so gross, Dean Winchester." Lizzie exclaimed scrambling off Dean's lap to go see the ladybug in Sammy's hand.

Thomas Owens watched from the seclusion of his rocker on the porch. He was glad the Winchesters had found their way to them. They were good boys. They just needed some family structure was all. The father is misguided to the point of obsession with revenge for the death of his young wife.

John Winchester met Thomas' son, Colin, during the war. They were in the same unit and became fast friends, served their tours and went their separate ways. Over the years, they stayed in contact. Thomas was so sad to hear of John's sweet Mary perishing in such a horrific manner. Devastating is the only word that comes to mind. Grief-stricken and desperate for answers, John set out to seek revenge against the creature that destroyed his family with his two young sons in tow. A series of misadventures, disorganized hunts and sheer luck brought the two old friends together again. Now they scour the country ridding the world of evil. When they are close by, John will leave the boys here to attend to his various hunts. This is the first summer that they have actually spent any significant amount of time here. Normally, it is only for a day to two at most. John and Colin were coordinating their efforts to track down the yellow-eyed demon that murdered John's Mary. The boys had now been here for over two weeks and it was likely they would spend the summer, which was fine. It would be good for Lizbeth. She did not really have anyone her age to play with so it was turning out just fine.

Hunters. He really did not like the lot of them as a whole. Most go off half-cocked without all of the research and information about their target usually leading to unfortunate casualties. Figures he married into a family of them. His Em was a firecracker in her own right. She was a beauty in her day. He did love her, but she was devout to her calling and raised their only son as such. The sun rose and set on that boy, even with all of his faults.

Thankfully, Thomas had waited. He was right that Colin was not to be his successor. He had hoped they would bear another child, but they were not blessed with such. So, he waited; waited, prayed and hoped for the day that God would grace him with his successor.

Then, Colin's only attempt at a semblance of a relationship had brought forth his little Lizbeth. Lizbeth's mother was a drunken whore who was entirely too self-indulgent with her excesses and overdosed on a cocaine/heroin cocktail a few years ago.

Shortly after Lizbeth was born, Colin showed up on their doorstep with her, handing her off on his way to a hunt. Colin had not even bothered to name her. Em had no patience or tolerance for a little baby, so it was left to Thomas to care of her. He named her appropriately; Lizbeth "God Is My Oath" Greer "Watchful, Guardian".

He raised her from infancy. At a very young age, he began the ancient teachings of their Craft. She was well versed. She had a keen, voracious mind for someone so young. He was so proud of her. She proved to have a natural aptitude for hunting as well, but neither her father nor Grandmother could be bothered with her instruction. She took it upon herself, trying to garner some sort of attention from them but to no avail. She continued with her studies as well as excelling in her schoolwork. The Winchester boys had taken over her hunting training in their rather unorthodox approach. But, she would be ready when the time came.

His time was drawing near; he knew this. He had been planning, organizing and training her for what she would need to do. The signs were all there. The time was coming. It was a ways off yet, but as the Guardian of the Seals, he knew it was happening as it was foretold. He just was not sure if it was a blessing or a curse that the Winchesters found their way to them.

All he could do was prepare his little one for her task and pray for those boys. It would happen and they would all be involved whether they wanted to be or not. He just hoped the boys were strong enough. Of his Lisbeth, he had no doubt. She would set the gates of Heaven and Hell on their ear without batting an eye. Of that, he was sure. He laughed to himself. Heaven help them all.

~*~

Dean climbed the old tree in the front yard. Lizzie was sitting on one of the branches in the far back so no one would see her.

"Are you gonna come down and say goodbye, Lizzie?" Dean asked from his perch below her.

"I don't want you to go," she said with a pout and crossed her arms across her chest. She turned from where she was seated. Her legs dangled off the sturdy branch. She was dressed in her parochial school uniform as her school had started back today. He would have to take her in and clean up her knee. It looks like she scraped it when she climbed the tree. "I don't like it here by myself. I have Gampa, but Gran and Daddy don't like me. They just ignore me. I don't like being alone … I," her bottom lip quivered and her eyes watered as she turned to look away from Dean.

"Lizzie," he sighed. "We are gonna be back next spring when school lets out, Dad already said we could stay the summer while he and your Dad go huntin'…" He tried to reason with her.

She turned back to him. "But that's such a long time away…" She whined as two big tears rolled down either cheek. "I'm gonna miss you, you creep!" She was starting to look really pissed off having admitted that.

Dean smirked at her revelation. "I got somethin' for ya'." He told her with a grin. "Really, what?" she asked. Lizzie scrubbed her face dry and leaned down to see.

He reached into the pocket of his second-hand jeans and pulled out a small medallion.

"A St. Benedict's medal?" Lizzie asked him as he placed it in her hand.

"Pastor Jim says it's for protection. Ya' know, to keep you safe until we come back next spring. Or, whatever…" he blushed as he explained his reasons. "Or if anythin', it can protect you from Sister Margaret Clare's ruler." He tried to laugh off his embarrassment.

Lizzie rolled her eyes at him and then beamed. "Thank you. It's beautiful. I love it." She reached out and grabbed his neck to hug him. The only problem was he lost his balance when he tried to hug her back and they fell from the tree, Dean landed on his back with a thud and a groan, knocking the wind out of him. Lizzie started fussing over him because of his fall. He was fine and thankfully, he thought, no one saw.

Dean sat up and arranged Lizzie in his lap so she was sitting with her head resting on his shoulder under his chin while she looked at her new present. _She really is tiny_, he thought.

"I saw it and thought you might like it is all." He blushed again.

"You mean you stole it," Lizzie said as she pulled back and glared up at him with a hand on her hip with her head tilted slightly and an eyebrow raised at him.

Dean bristled and said, "Well if you don't want it, I'll take it back," reaching for the medallion.

"No!" She yelped. "You gave it to me as a gift and it's mine!" She smiled down and looked at it. She liked sitting in his lap. She always felt safe with Dean around, not like she would tell him or anything though.

Dean just kind of fizzled at that point and lost his bluster. "Well alright then." He huffed and dropped his arms around her waist, holding her close, but not too close. He did not want her to think he liked her sitting on his lap or anything, or that he thought she needed looking after or anything either.

She looks up at him again. Putting her tiny hand on his cheek, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips, very lightly. "Thank you" she whispered and blushed, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"You're welcome," he whispered back, staring at her, his eyes as big as saucers too.

"Dean!" John Winchester bellowed for his oldest son from inside the house.

They both startled and stared at the porch. Lizzie scrambled off of Dean's lap. They tried to clean each other off and straighten their clothes.

"Yes sir!" Dean answered as he ran to the house, stopping to look back at Lizzie from the bottom step. She was holding the medallion and staring at it She looked so sad and lonely, but she clutched it to her heart, looked up at him and smiled brightly waving for him to go inside before he got into trouble again.

"Come say goodbye. We're heading out." John instructed him as he got their things together.

~*~

"Mikey! If your room isn't clean and your homework done before you leave this house, I swear, I will drive over there and drag you out by your ear. Daniel's mother will be here any minute. Get a move on!" Lizzie bellows from the kitchen.

"But Mom! …" Mikey groans from the living room.

"Don't you 'But, Mom' me. Move it or lose it, mister. Is your bag packed? I don't want any panicked early-morning calls that you forgot your uniform for soccer camp," she tells him as she walks into the living room, dishtowel in hand and a hand on her hip, glaring a hole into his skull.

"Yes, God! Will you give me some credit, mother? Geez!" He stomps off upstairs to put his uniform in his overnight bag. He was so not letting her know he forgot. He would _never_ live that one down.

"Don't you take that tone with me, young man. I brought you into this world. I can take you out." She follows him to the foot of the stairs.

"I wish you never watched that Bill Cosby special," he mumbled.

"What did you say to me … ?" She bellowed from the stairs and marched up after him as their conversation continued throughout the house.

Overhearing this, Dean just smirks and laughs a little, standing at the gate that leads up to the house. He fidgets with the sleeve of his jacket while he listens to the conversation in the house through the open windows. _Some things never change, _he thinks fondly. His Lizzie is still terrorizing someone somewhere.

Hesitating at the gate, he reaches for the latch, stops, and looks back at the Impala. _He really shouldn't bring her into this. She obviously has a whole other life, but where are they gonna go? Is there anywhere to hide from all the demons in hell or all the angels in heaven? One night, that's all, and then he'll leave her alone. He just needs to rest and to think._

And still, Dean fidgets at the gate. This is one of the few places he ever truly felt safe. Dean looks back at the Impala, his baby. Castiel is sitting stalwart and steadfast in the front seat, showing no emotion, looking a little worse for wear, and Chuck is passed out in the back seat.

_How did things get so fucked up? Well, more so than usual, anyways_, Dean ponders.

Dean opens the gate and walks up to the walkway to the house. He stops on the bottom step and is flooded with memories of happier times full of discovery, wonder and hope. Times that he has longed for, it seems, for an eternity.

_I can'__t bring this into her life_, he thinks. _She doesn't deserve this_.

As Dean turns to leave, the bottom step creaks. Just then, the front door flies open and she is there, _his Lizzie_.

"Dean?" she questions in a breathless gasp.

Just like that, like always, she makes him feel whole. She revitalizes him. Like a breath of fresh, clean, pure air after the morbid, decayed stench of death.

"Hey Mouse." Dean laughs a little. "I, I, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come, I.…" he stutters and blushes. _Damn it!_ She is the only person who has ever been able to make him blush. _Shit!_ He feels like he is ten years old again and she is eight, sitting in his lap under that tree after he gave her that stupid pendant. _Fuck!_ He needs to get out of there.

"I'll just …" he starts, and then she is in his arms; hugging him, accepting him just as always. _God! She smells the same_, he thinks, _apples and sunshine_. Now that she is older, it is richer, cinnamon-sweet with an earthy hint of vanilla. He could just drown in her. Both arms come around and hold her tight, clinging as he stands to his full height causing her feet to dangle in the air. He burrows further into her warm sweetness. This is what coming home feels like.

Lizzie pulls away. There are tears in her eyes as she caresses his cheek, strokes her thumb across his bottom lip, looks up into his eyes and leans in to kiss him on his forehead. He closes his eyes, cherishing this small moment of affection. _He's missed her so much_. Her eyes are still that that deep hazel green with violet flecks. She still wears her glasses that she has cursed every day since she first had to put them on. Her hair is still the same deep, rich reddish-brown, soft in curly waves slipping from the haphazard bun that she has it up in. She is still small in stature but filled out with maturity. She is fuller and curvier than he remembers. Hell, last time he really saw her she was sixteen. She is wearing a simple button down over a tank top and jeans with those black Converse sneakers she always loved. He had never seen anything more breathtaking. _Oh, this is not good. I should definitely leave_, he thinks again.

"I am so sorry, D," is all she says as she caresses his cheek again looking deep into his weary eyes. She knows. He knows she knows. She always does it seems. Freaky, but he is glad he does not have to explain. It is still too raw.

"I shouldn't be here," he says. "You don't need to be involved in this." He tries again. He is falling all over again. _I can__'__t do this. I'm not strong enough._

"Mom! Where are my socks for my uniform?" Dean hears bellowed from the back upstairs of the house.

Lizzie sighs heavily and turns to yell up to the house, "Top right-hand drawer of your dresser and hurry up! Daniel's mom is going to be here any minute." She turns back to Dean. "Sorry," she cringes and wrinkles her nose.

_I forgot how cute she looks when she does that_, he thinks. _Stop that Dean! Pull it together dude, and get outta here_.

"I'm gonna …" He puts her down and turns.

Lizzie grabs his wrist in a surprisingly strong grip and says, "You will do no such thing, Mr. Winchester. You are right where you need to be. Move your car around back and put it in the garage, please. Mikey is going to a training camp for the weekend, so that will be one less distraction. Go do as I asked and we 'll figure out the rest tomorrow. You guys need to get cleaned up, have a decent meal and a good night's sleep. We'll go from there after that. Now go. Shoo!"

"Wait, how did you? I mean, do you even know what is going on?" Dean stutters. _Shit!_ As usual, he is reduced to a babbling idiot around her.

Lizzie just rolls her eyes at him like she always does and pats his arm. "Of course I do." she informed him. "You should know not to question where I'm concerned, just accept. You would think after all these years at least _that_ would have sunk into your thick skull." She chastened him shaking her head.

Lizzie peaks around Dean, sees the Impala and smiles sadly, but startles when she sees the passengers. Castiel turns, looks at her and tilts his head to the side, like he is trying to solve a puzzle.

"Oh!" Lizzie gasps and walks over to him as he steps out of the car. She stops at the gate, hesitates and walks through. Clasping her hands in front of her, she bows her head.

"You will have to excuse me," she begins. "I was never formally instructed on the proper etiquette in greeting an Angel of the Lord."

Castiel places his hand on her forehead and nods. Bringing his hand back, he says, "Dean has informed me that is customary to greet with a handshake?" He stretches out his right hand to her rather stiffly.

Lizzie looks at the proffered hand and blinks. She clasps his hand and shakes it firmly with a soft smile.

"Well, he seems to be teaching you well, then."

The corner of Castiel's mouth turns up slightly falling short of a smile or smirk. In a staged whisper, she tells him, giggling, "Make sure you check with me first if something doesn't sound quite right, he likes to make jokes at other people's expense and embarrass them."

Castiel cocks his head to the other side again with a puzzled look and simply nods.

"My name is Lizbeth, but you can call me Lizzie," she informed him. "This is the Prophet, yes?" She asked Castiel, looking into the backseat of the Impala.

He informs her with a nod, "Yes, this is the Prophet Chuck."

Lizzie blinks at that.

"The Prophet … Chuck?" she asks looking from Dean to Castiel. Dean just shrugs and Castiel nods. Her only reply is, "Huh? Okay."

"Well," Lizzie starts, "as I was telling Dean, I need you guys to pull the car around to the garage in back and then I will see about getting everyone settled in once Mikey leaves. Now, if you will excuse me, I really have to get Mikey ready."

She starts off to the house again, but stops at the bottom step to look at Dean. She giggles again. "At least now I know why I wanted to bake an apple pie today."

Dean perks up at that, "Pie?"

Lizzie just laughs at him and shakes her head walking up the stairs, calling back, "Well, you have things you need to be doing mister. Go, go, go … time's a wastin' … stuff to do … demons to slay … yada, yada, yada … Shoo! Shoo! Shoo! " She prattles off as she goes up to the house to finish up with Mikey.

Dean blinks and looks around. _What the hell was that? Oh yeah, Hurricane Lizzie just blew through. _He shakes his head, laughs, and turns to do her bidding.

Dean and Castiel get back in the car. Dean drives it around and stores it in the back garage as she asked. Nothing really had changed that much in the time since he had been here as he looks around. Older, worn here and there, a fresh coat of paint there and such. Dean woke Chuck up with a smack to the back of the head. He ushered them in through the back to the kitchen where they settled around the old farmhouse kitchen table. The kitchen looks warmer and cozier than the last time. _That must be Lizzie's touch._

Dean knew she had lost her father and grandmother shortly after the last time he saw her. He wonders where her life had taken her. She has a son. That much he knew so far. _How had he fallen so far out of her life?_ She had been so important for so long. After the last time his father had picked him and Sammy up, John had just kept pushing and pushing with the training and the hunting. Her calls just stopped and then he was never able to get a chance to call. Then it just got too weird that they had been out of contact for so long. They just drifted apart.

He did see her one other time, but he is too embarrassed to think about it. Sammy had left for college and his father was off on a bender after the huge fight that preceded Sammy leaving. Dean was so lost and so lonely. His family was falling apart. He turned to the bottle as a means of comfort. Those first few days were a blur. He was lucky he did not die on the side of the road. Somehow, he made it here to her. In the middle of the night, it was pouring rain and he was drunk almost to the point of incoherency. He woke up with the hangover from hell and was completely mortified that he did not remember what happened or how he got there. She was curled up next to him sleeping peacefully. He watched her quietly for a short while and then shot out of there faster than if hellhounds were hot on his heels. That was the last time he had seen her until today.

Dean leaves Castiel and Chuck in the kitchen as he made his way back out from the kitchen and around to the side of the house to see that Daniel's mother had just shown up. Lizzie rushes a lanky-looking kid with dark blonde hair down the walkway to the awaiting car. He had an iPod ear bud stuck in his ear, a huge sports duffle bag over his shoulder and an overnight bag in his other hand. Lizzie chatted with the other woman for a few minutes then ushered the boy into the car. He kisses and waves bye to his mother. She just stands there waving and watching as they pull away.

Lizzie watches after the car as it fades from view. She just stands there hugging herself quietly contemplating something. The sun is setting and she seems to glow in the fading light as he walks up behind her.

"Cute kid," Dean says.

"Yeah," Lizzie replies. "Just like his Daddy." With that, she turns and heads for the house to attend to her new guests.

Dean stands there for a minute. "Uh, Mouse, how old is he?"

"Twelve," Lizzie replies without turning around as she climbs the stairs and goes in the house.

Dean follows her up to the gate and stops, looking from up the road the car had departed, then looks back up to the house. "Uh…Lizzie?"

~*~


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: The Guardian**  
**Author: kateyes085**  
**Pairings:** Dean/OFC; subjective to mention of any and all characters up to and including through 4.22  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Word Count:** 4434  
**Summary:** When Dean's world has fallen apart, he revisits a place and person from his past for shelter and the strength he needs to go on.  
**Warnings: **Overall, cursing, the usual, blood, guts and mayhem. Eventual heterosexual relationship. There will be underlying religious and occult themes throughout; no offense is intended towards anyone's particular belief system. Some liberties have been taken with storylines, mythological and religious information.  
**Disclaimer**: All stories posted are not for profit and are works of fiction. The Owens are mine.

**Beta**: blynnk

_Feedback is love and honest criticisms are appreciated._

~*~

Dean races up the stairs and throws open the screen door, stepping through and looking both ways. Lizzie is ushering Chuck and Castiel up the stairs.

"Um, Lizzie. I think we need to talk," Dean tells her, rushing into the room, standing behind the couch and watching them.

Lizzie stands at the foot of the stairs, turns, looks at Dean, and then back up to Chuck and Castiel's retreating backsides.

"Gentleman, please go up to the third floor and choose a room you feel will suit you. I will be up shortly to get you sorted out," she tells them.

Lizzie sighs, looks down and up at Dean again. She seems very tired all of a sudden. "Dean, I need to get them settled first and we will talk okay. You know where your room is."

With that, she started up the stairs again.

"Mouse, I just, uh, I mean, is…" Dean stutters as he tries to spit it out what he is trying to ask.

Lizzie's shoulders slump and she turns and walks back down the stairs. She kneels on the couch facing him and grabs both of his larger hands in her smaller ones. Studying them, she runs her thumb lovingly over his silver ring and smiles sadly. She remembers the day she gave it to him, her Grandfather's ring, before he left that summer after the funeral. _She misses her Gampa so much_. It was so hard after he died. Nothing earth shattering or supernatural took him from her. It was just his time. He passed away quietly in his sleep one night and that was that.

She raises Dean's strong, callused hands to her lips, kisses them both and squeezes them, looking directly at him.

"Yes, Mikey is your son," she says simply. Smiling briefly and sadly, she squeezes his hands again, releases them and turns to go upstairs.

Dean is struck dumb for a few seconds.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he whispers in a daze.

"I tried Dean. Your father rushed you out of here like a pack of hellhounds was bearing down on him. I told you that night I needed to talk to you, and you promised, _promised me_ that you would call as soon as you could. The next time I heard from you, you were pounding on my door at 2:00 a.m. drunk on my doorstep in the middle of a thunderstorm four years after that only to be gone the next morning before I woke up. Then, there was that pesky little issue of you dying and all," she snaps.

"That's still … but, … you could've called me," he yells.

"Don't you dare take that tone with me Dean Winchester!" she yells back at him. "You have no idea what happened after you left, so don't you dare sit there and try and judge me. I _did_ try to call you, Dean! I called your father. I called Bobby. I left countless messages everywhere I could think of. I wrote you. I sent letters to Bobby's house, your P.O. boxes, everywhere I could think of to reach you," she tells him as she walks through the house to the study. He follows her, fuming.

She sits at her grandfather's battered oak desk, opens the bottom draw, pulls out a large mailing envelope and hands it to him. "I received this just after Gran's funeral," she tells him.

It is addressed to her in John Winchester's scrawled handwriting. Dean blinks and stares at the package with a dazed look on his face.

"I, I don't understand …" he stutters, his watery eyes met hers.

She moves around the desk. When she reaches him, she pulls him into a hug, holding him close. She kisses his temple and stroking his hair, trying to sooth him.

"If you would like to read these, that is fine. If not, that is fine too, but it will explain everything. Stay in here if you like or I will have your room ready for you shortly if you would rather go up there. I am going to start some dinner and I will check on you in a little bit. I need to make sure the others are settling in," she explains to him.

Lizzie bites her lip, looks down to the floor and then up at him as she wrings her hands together.

"Dean," she begins," I don't ever want you to think that I intentionally tried to keep Mikey from you. That was never the case. He knows you are his father. He knows all about you, actually. His hope was to one day meet you, but then with the deal, well … He does know that you came back. I have never lied to him. Whatever questions he asks me, I am honest with him. He knows about what we do and about all the nasties that are out there. I have never shielded him, but I do not force a hunter's lifestyle on him. We help where we can, mostly research, supplies and a place to stay for those in need. But, I try to give him as stable an environment as I can."

Dean is still staring at the envelope. Lizzie just squeezes his hand, turns, and leaves.

Dean makes his way over to the old desk and sits behind it, clutching the envelope. It is postmarked six months after they had left. There has to be over a hundred letters. All of them neatly made out to him at various addresses. None of them opened.

He starts opening a coupled of them. In each envelope, there is a copy of the same letter.

She always started the same, asking him to read the enclosed letter first. Then she would go on to whatever had happened that day. She apparently detailed all the stages of her pregnancy, her hopes, her dreams, her fears, her thoughts, and questions. These letters were all the same as those he had received from her in the past.

No one ever knew, but he had kept all of the letters she had ever sent him over the years. He had a special place that he hid them at Bobby's so they would not be lost and each time he visited, he was add to the stack.

The first letter tells him about the pregnancy and about her grandmother finding the pregnancy test Lizzie had brought as well as the ensuing argument after that. They were still here at the time, but his father had taken him and Sammy off on a training exercise for the day and when they came back, within the hour they were leaving. He had only had time to say goodbye and they were gone.

He hates that she went through that alone. Estranged is the only way he can describe her relationship with her father and grandmother.

In her letter, she talked about how scared, excited and happy she was all at once. She explained how she had repeatedly tried to call him, but only got his and his father's voicemails. She missed him and could not wait until he came back to see her.

He shuffles through all the letters. He wants to read them all, but this is just so much to take in.

Why did his father keep this from him? He finds his answer at the bottom of the pile of letters. There is a handwritten letter from his father. It is hastily scribbled on stationery from some no-tell motel they must have been in at the time.

_Lizbeth –_

_Don't try and contact Dean again. _

_I will not have my son's life ruined because you couldn't keep your legs closed._

_Nothing will prevent him from finishing what we started. _

How could he do that? Why? He remembers that his father had taken his cell phone and switched it out soon after they left here. That was nothing unusual as he was always switching them out, but did he intentionally planned this?

He has a son.

Dean sits back and surveys the pile of letters on the desk. He looks around the study. Not a lot has changed. There is a computer on another desk in the corner near the window. There are more pictures of her, Mikey and what looks like Johnny, her childhood friend. That kid is the only person he trusts with Lizzie. They bonded in a way he could not understand or even try. There is nothing he would not do for her, and she the same. It is quite special and rare.

Dean continues to look around the study. A lot of her grandfather's things are still in their same place, even his old record player and his records. Whenever Lizzie was upset, she would always play them. She had told Dean it made him not seem so far away. They always calmed and soothed her. Sometimes, Dean even swore he would sometimes hear her talking to her grandfather while she was alone listening and singing along the various tunes from different eras. He was her mentor and confidant. Lizzie's grandfather was who she went to for guidance and advice. Dean just thought it just made her feel better so he never made anything of it. She missed her grandfather terribly though she would never mention it, but Dean knew.

He has a son.

_God, I need a drink_, Dean thought. _That's not happening_.

Lizzie was adamant about no alcohol because of her father. Dean never knew what happened between them because of her father's alcoholism; Lizzie never discussed it.

_Something smells good_, he thought as his stomach starts grumbling. Lizzie was cooking and it smelt heavenly.

He went to get up when Lizzie knocks and appears in the doorway holding a bottle of his favorite beer.

"I thought you might be thirsty?" She asks as she walks over and sets the bottle down on a clear spot on the desk.

Dean reaches for and grabs her hand, and holds it. She turns and looks at him worriedly biting her lip. He just pulls her into his lap and settles her in with her head on his shoulder and his arms gently but securely hugging her. He lays his head on top of hers and sighs, turns and kisses her hair, breathing in her familiar scent.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs into her hair. She just sighs and snuggles in close.

"It's not your fault" was all she says, as she nuzzles his neck. They sat there relishing in the warmth and comfort of each other that they had missed.

Lizzie pulled back and pecked him on the cheek. "I need to check on dinner." And with that, she climbed off his lap and went to check on that.

He once again surveyed the pile on the desk. He grabs his beer, sat back with a sigh, and relaxed for the first time in a very long time.

_I have a son_, he thinks and smiles crookedly.

~*~

When Lizzie leaves Dean in the study, she ventures upstairs to check on her guests.

She stops at Chuck's door. He was staring aimlessly out the window, absently hugging himself and scratching his left arm with his right hand and twitching. Lizzie shakes her head sadly. DTs.

"Chuck?" she asks as she lightly knocked on his open door. He jumps about a foot after being startled from his musings. Lizzie walks in extending her hand to him with a warm smile on her face.

"We have not formally been introduced. My name is Lizbeth Owens, but you can call me Lizzie," she tells him.

"I, um, hi?" He stutters.

Lizzie only giggled at that.

"It's alright Chuck, I just wanted to make sure that you were comfortable. There should be everything you need in your bathroom, but if you require anything, just let me know, okay?"

He twitches. "Yes, okay. T-t-thank you," he winces sounding pitiful.

Lizzie tries again, "I have some clothes upstairs that should fit you. Might be a little big, but it will do until we can get you some things of your own."

Again, he thanks her.

Lizzie bites her bottom lip again and starts wringing her hands as she stares at the floor, sighs and looks up at Chuck's blood-shot, tired eyes. "I hope you don't think I'm out of line, but …" She pauses and wrinkles her nose. "That's really not a good way to start this, is it? But, I would like to prepare you an herbal tea after dinner? It will help with the shakes, and it will relax you and help you sleep, if that's alright?"

"S-s-shakes?" He winces again.

Lizzie folds her arms and stares up at him pointedly, "How long has it been since you last had a drink?"

"Wh-wh-what?" he laughs nervously looking around for a way to get around her.

Lizzie squares her shoulders, "There is no point in being subtle. It is easier getting to the point. I am assuming you started because of the visions? I am not judging you Chuck, please don't think that. Your reasons are your own. I only want to help you. You obviously have not been sleeping or eating properly for sometime and that countered with the drinking, and, again, I'm assuming there has been some medication as well. This has taken its toll on your body. I only want to offer my assistance and that is all. I can prepare a tea for you. It is herbal in nature, it will help detoxify your body, and it will relax you and allow you to sleep better at night."

Chuck stares at her sheepishly.

She continues, "I cannot control your visions but this, with some meditation exercises that I would like to teach you, can help you get through this and function better, that and the fact that there is no alcohol allowed in my house. You will not be allowed to stay here if you continue drinking."

Chuck swallows visibly and asks, "How did you know? Y-you've barely spent any time with me."

"My father was a drunk," was all she says and he flinches.

She steps towards him and places her hand gently on his arm biting her lip nervously, "I will go find you something clean to change into. Just leave your things in the bathroom and I will wash them later. Like I said, everything you need should be in there. I have a spare laptop. You are welcome to use it, if you need to. The house is set up on a wireless router so the Internet is available also. I will let you get yourself settled. If there is anything you need, just holler. I will start dinner soon and that should be ready in about an hour."

She turns to leave, and he grabs her arm and stutters, "T-t-thank you, Ms. Owens."

She just smiles gently, places her hand over his and says, "Please, call me Lizzie," and turns and walks out the door.

She walks down the hall and makes sure Dean's room was ready for him before she moves on to Castiel's room.

He stands at the window facing out to the greenhouse and orchard. The Owens' farm had always been self-sufficient since the time they settled the town in the mid 1600's. Now, Lizzie simply maintains what she needs for canning, cooking and herbs within about two acres directly off the house. This also includes a small orchard and greenhouse she maintains. The entire homestead was roughly twenty-five acres. Developers have been foaming at the bit to get their hands on it at any given time through the years. At one time, their parcel was almost a hundred acres.

Castiel was surveying the landscape. Lizzie raises her hand to gently knock on his door, when he says, "Your home is quite lovely. You grace God with your thoughtfulness in maintaining the beauty of creation."

Lizzie bows her head and states simply, "Thank you for your kindness."

"For someone so young, you certainly are respectful of my station. Do you think you could teach Dean such manners?" Castiel inquires.

Lizzie looks up at him through her lashes and giggles, "Not likely I'm afraid."

"It is fortunate that Dean brought us here, as you will be needed, but I did not know we would be meeting so soon." Castiel pauses in thought, "We did not know about the boy," he informs her.

"No one does, not really. I don't have any family left and only Johnny knows about us. It was my intention to try to protect him. My grandfather had been preparing me for this since I was very young. He saw the signs early and believed it would unfold in my lifetime. I have been training Mikey also, for when his time comes."

Lizzie chews on her lip again, a definite sign of her nervousness, and walks further into Castiel's room.

"Something is wrong isn't it? Within the last two years, the energies have changed. They are warped, kind of. Is this because of Azazel? My grandfather recorded a similar shift in the early 70's. It's almost like She's not listening or even there. I can't explain it any other way." Lizzie states.

She had pored over the journals to try to try make sense of what was happening, but there simply was no reference. She had prayed and prayed for guidance and help, but no counsel was forthcoming until today. Judging by appearances, Castiel was not going to be able to answer her questions. Lizzie knew the Morning Star had risen; she felt the surge within the celestial alignment. The time had come. Her duties would not be required until the final encounter, but she would help Dean in any way that she could until her role was called in to play. She never dreamed that he would be the Chosen Warrior.

Castiel murmurs a sound of agreement. "Can this _Johnny_ person be trusted?" he inquires.

A cold mask falls across her face; a startling contrast to the warm, caring woman that had greeted him earlier.

"There are only two people I would entrust with the care of my son: his father and Johnny. Yes, he can be trusted." Lizzie replies icily.

"You refer to the Creator as a female?" Castiel asks, intrigued at her assumption and attempting to steer the conversation away from the subject of the boy.

"To be honest," Lizzie explains, "you would definitely know better than I. All recorded entries indicate the visions are female. But, as you know, the charge of Guardian is usually bestowed upon the first-born female of each generation. In rare instances, the teachings are passed to a male blood heir. I have my own thoughts on that though."

"Really?And, what are they?" he indulges, quite curious in fact.

"Are you teasing me or are you really interested?" She asks, wrinkling her nose. "It is hard to tell, you tend to be very stoic and regal. We need to work on that if you are going to assimilate."

"I am quite curious, to be truthful." He states as he tilts his head to the side in inquiry.

"Okay. My thought is that God's celestial entity is asexual and assumes the associated figure of easiest cognition and reception. But, as such, God is the Creator and would thus actually be female as the female counterpart creates life; however, on the flip side, reproduction cannot occur without the counterpart, which really is kind of a mute point, don't you think?" She asks, warming to her subject.

"Hmmm," Castiel murmurs, "we will definitely have to discuss this further. You bring up some interesting points."

Lizzie's eyes twinkle again as she giggles, "The Sisters never saw it that way though. My response was always 'God's greatest gift was free will and in such, questions and invention were the result.' I mean really, how could someone limit the expansion of their mind to simple encompass the teachings of a dusty old novel, written by celibate, cranky old men with superiority complexes and vagina envy? Honestly, if you look close enough, I'm sure you can see the eraser marks. Oh!" Lizzie gasps and her hands flew to cover her mouth, which is hanging open. Heyes grew large, finally realizing what she said and to whom she had said it.

Castiel blinks tilts his head just a little further to the side, blinks again and actually laughs a deep, rich rumble that seemed to take him by surprise. This made Lizzie laugh too.

"I've said too much haven't I? I always do that … Gampa always said God forgot to install my brain/mouth switch. I hope I haven't offended you," she cringes wrinkling her nose again. This just makes Castiel laugh harder and shake his head no, but he wipes his eyes and stares at his fingers. He had never cried before, physically. It is quite refreshing crying through laughter. _Father has chosen well_, he thinks with a warm smile, or_ as the case may be, Mother_.

"You have a nice laugh." She says. "Hopefully, we can make that happen more often." She smiles warmly up at him. "Do you require anything? I always try to keep these rooms clean just in case, you never know who may need a place to stay. There are fresh linens in the bathroom. Feel free to help yourself. It is fairly well stocked. I will get you some fresh clothes to change into also."

"That is not necessary," Castiel informs her.

"Well, there is that assimilation thing I was talking about. It will make things easier. Don't get me wrong, you look fine in the rumpled, business man suit thing you have goin' on, but we need to get you something more inconspicuous and durable. And, you need to start eating. I know Jimmy is at peace now, but you do still need to maintain your vessel, it will also help with blending in. Don't worry, I will take care of you. That's what I do. I'm good at it" shesmiles.

"Dinner will be ready within the hour" she calls back as she turns and goes downstairs.

~*~

Lizzie starts working on dinner. The easiest was spaghetti and meatballs. She had had just pasta planned for herself tonight, but with the addition of her guests, she will just have to make more of it and throw in some meatballs.

Over the years, she had learned to stock rations accordingly. You really never knew who was going to be here at any given time. Mikey always had friends overregular scout meetings and sleep overs when he was younger, camping out back with Daniel and Peter, PTA meetings, the various school leagues that Mikey was involved in, or the occasional hunter in need of a place to stay, restock, research and move on. She had truly tried to give him the closest thing to a normal childhood as possible. He understood who they were and never discussed their family outside of the home.

The townspeople knew the Owens' were different. They always had been, but no one ever rocked the boat. Lizzie, however, was ostracized for the most part; sixteen, pregnant living alone in that house with the Miller boy always over there. _Why wasn't social services called?_ No one knew who the father was. It was often suspected to be one of those Winchester boys that frequented their house on extended intervals, but nothing ever concrete was confirmed or denied. Lizzie and Mikey simply refused to discuss personal matters and that was that. Through persistence and patience, they had carved a life for themselves as best they could.

On impulse this morning, she dug out the only six pack of beer that she always kept on hand, just in case, and put it in the fridge in the back pantry. She also was on a cooking frenzy this morning. She baked breads, cookies, brownies and two pies; something she always did when she was anxious. Face it; the last year was a rollercoaster at best. Baking and cooking always soothed her. Most of it went to the soup kitchen associated with her church or to the shut-ins of the church; mostly the elderly or disabled patrons who were not able interact with the parishioners any longer.

Dinner was cooking, salad was done, and bread was warming in the oven. _Now or never, Lizzie._ Was he going to hate her? She knew he worshiped his father. How was he going to take this deception? So many questions. _Well, you won't get any answers sitting here with your thumb up your butt. _

She grabs a beer out of the fridge, heading to the study, and knocking before entering.

"I thought you might be thirsty?" Lizzie says to Dean. She is not sure what her reception is going to be so her statement came out more like a question than anything. She really did not know where to start.

Lizzie walks over and places the beer on a clear spot on the desk, again biting her lip in question as she looks down at him. He grabs her hand and holds it. ulli her into his lap, h settles her in with her head on his shoulder and his arms gently but securely hugging her.

She sighs and snuggles in nuzzling his neck. Leather, aftershave and Dean, musky sandalwood and spice, she missed that. He lays his head on top of hers sighing and turns to kiss the top of her head.

"I'm sorry," he murmurs into her hair. She just sighs and snuggles in closer. _I missed him so much,_ she thinks sadly. "It's not your fault" Lizzie responds.

Lizzie pulls back and pecks him on the cheek. "I need to check on dinner." And with that, she climbs off his lap and leaves to finish what she was working on.

~*~


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: The Guardian**  
**Author: kateyes085**  
**Pairings:** Dean/OFC; subjective to mention of any and all characters up to and including through 4.22  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Word Count:** 4820  
**Summary:** When Dean's world has fallen apart, he revisits a place and person from his past for shelter and the strength he needs to go on.  
**Warnings: **Overall, cursing, the usual, blood, guts and mayhem. Eventual heterosexual relationship. There will be underlying religious and occult themes throughout; no offense is intended towards anyone's particular belief system. Some liberties have been taken with storylines, mythological and religious information.  
**Disclaimer**: All stories posted are not for profit and are works of fiction. The Owens are mine.

**Beta**: blynnk

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I was having some problems uploading this chapter. All better now. I hope the following list helps and that I did the translations justice. Enjoy!

1. Mo chroi – My heart

2. Boidchead – Beautiful (n.)

3. gra – love.

4. stoirin – little treasure/darling.

5. Adaya – God's Jewel (Hebrew baby name)

6. Cinnamon (Hebrew baby name)

_Feedback is love and honest criticisms are appreciated._

~*~

Lizzie calls everyone down to dinner. They sit around the old kitchen table and Dean and Chuck devour their food. Castiel picks at his until with encouragement from Lizzie he starts properly eating his meal and seems to enjoy it. _Poor things eat like they haven't in a week_. Lizzie giggles"You can slow down guys. There is plenty. You definitely will not starve in this house," she tells them warmly.

Chuck moans obscenely around a meatball, "These are awesome!" Lizzie giggles. "Why aren't you having any?" he asks her.

Before she can answer, Dean mumbles around a mouthful, "She's a vegetarian."

With a scowl, Lizzie just rolls here eyes at him and tells Chuck, "He's never approved of my choice," in a patronizing tone.

"It's not natural," he tells her yet again.

"D, we agreed to disagree on this, now eat your salad." She mothers him.

"I don't wanna eat your damned twigs and bark crap, I've told you this before." He scowls.

She glares at him pointedly, "Eat it." He leans back and crosses his arms over his chest looking for all the world like a petulant child. "Fine, no dessert for you then. I made apple pie fresh this morning and tomorrow I was gonna make something special for you to, but not now. There's no point, is there, because if you're acting like a fear-old, I guess I'm just gonna to have to treat you like one."

"Peach pie?" He asks reverently, as his eyes darken. Lizzie just blushes slightly and looks down. He reaches for his salad and starts it eating it begrudgingly.

Lizzie smirks"I knew you'd see things my way," she says softly.

"Don't gloat Mouse, it's not becoming." Dean mutters around a mouth full of salad.

"Bite me Winchester, and don't talk with you mouthful. I swear. It's like teaching Mikey table manners all over again." She grumbles.

"Bitch." He smirks.

"Creep." She grins.

He just looks at her and opens his mouth displaying the masticated food within.

"Ewwww, gross!" Lizzie exclaims to which she throws a piece of bread at his head.

He catches it easily and takes a big bite. "Why thanks, darlin'." He says around his mouthful. Lizzie rolls her eyes at him and turns to finish her dinner.

Castiel watches their exchange curiously. Dean certainly acts differently with Lizzie than Castiel has ever seen him before. He is neither aggressive nor standoffish and rude. He regards her with an affectionate banter that he had not even with Sam.

"Why does he call you Mouse?" Chuck asks Lizzie.

Her eyes twinkle and she looks between both Chuck and Dean. "I think he should explain it."

Dean coughs around his mouthful of food, "It was your fault."

She just raises her eyebrows at him and laughs, "You came up with the damned nickname. I made the mistake of telling him I hated it, and of course he kept at it. Then, it just stuck. He's the only person allowed to call me that by the way."

Dean takes a drink of his soda and starts to tell the story of the origin of Lizzie's nickname.

~*~

"_The first time we came to stay with the Owens, we had only just driven up and parked the car outside the house, when outta nowhere there's a howling cry up the street. My _D_ad goes flying outta the car to investigate. So, my _D_ad goes off to investigate and Sammy, being Sammy, has to go and see what is what. He moved faster than I could to grab him and runs after my _D_ad. My _D_ad runs up the street a little ways and stops bending over laughing so hard tears are falling and I quickly scramble up behind him and Sammy to see what the Hell's goin' on. There's this little girl, couldn't of been more than eight, dressed in a pink sundress with her hair in pigtails and ribbons wielding a pink T-ball bat like a broadsword and beatin' the eva-lovin' crap outta the neighborhood bully who was about fourteen or fifteen by the looks of him. The howling we heard was her breaking his leg with the bat…" _

Lizzie stood back and surveyed the damage with the bat slung over her shoulder. She poked him in the shoulder with the toe of her Converse sneaker. He moaned in pain. "Why don't ya' pick on somebody your own size you big creep! If I eva see ya' beatin' up anythin' again, you're gonna be eatin' your dinner with a straw, understand?"

All Dean heard was a whimpered 'yes' in the distance.

Lizzie turned around and went to the stone wall they were near, picked up something there and was cooing over it. She was being very gentle and careful as she started walking back to the house.

She stopped short in front of the Winchester who were just standing there with tmouths hanging open.

She very politely said, "Are you Mr. Winchester? My Daddy's waitin' for you up at the house. I think Gampa found the books you were looking for. Oh! Excuse me," she said and curtsied awkwardly since her hands were full. I'm Lizzie," she said sweet as could be. "Come, I'll show you up to the house. Could one of you take this please? I need to take care of him."

Dean took the bat from the girl as she prattled on holding some wounded creature. _What is that thing?_ Dean thought to himself.

"… If you boys would like your own rooms, we have plenty, or you can share, it's your choice. I'm helpin' Gampa make his meatloaf for dinner. I've been practicing with the knives, but I can only use 'em if he's with me. He says he don't want me to lose a finger. He says my mind wanders too much, but I don't know why says that all the time." Lizzie scrunches up her nose and thinks on that for a second, then asks, "What is today Saturday? Oh! Goodie! We can stay up and watch TV late tonight, only if I'm good Gran said. Will you be comin' to church with Gampa and I tomorrow? We'll have to make sure your good clothes are clean before we go to bed to make sure they are ready. What's your name?"

She turned to Dean and Sammy waiting expectantly.

"Uh, Dean?" he replied with a confused, dazed look on his face.

"Nice to meet you Dean, and you are?" she turned to Sammy.

"Sammy!" He said and held out his hand for her to shake, which she did.

"We are gonna be great friends. I can tell. Well, follow me and I'll show you to the house and you can meet with Daddy, Mr. Winchester. I have to ask Gampa if can keep 'em, but we gotta get him better first, do you wanna help me Sammy?"

"Sure!" he replied enthusiastically. Lizzie held out her hand and Sammy clasped it without question. The two of them both ran up the stairs and into the house.

"Uh, Dad, does she ever stop talking?" Dean asked his father nervously.

"I am not sure son." John Winchester responded cautiously.

Lizzie and Sammy reached the top step and Lizzie opened the front door

"Come on!" she . "They're waitin' for you, Mr. Winchester. Dean, you come with me and Sammy. We gotta fix up this poor lil' kitten. Blasted Tommy Wilkinson! He'll think twice about beatin' up a poor little kitty again if I have anything to say about, I tell you what…" and with that she prattled on back into the house taking Sammy with her.

Dean and his father just stared and looked at each other and stared up the stairs shaking their heads.

"Um, I think, uh, I need to go save Sammy or somethin'," he muttered walking cautiously up the stairs and opening the screen door.

He walked in to an old, dusty hallway and looked around. His father was close behind.

"Dean" he heard from the back of the house. "Come to the greenhouse in the back. We're back here through the kitchen."

Dean followed the crazy little girl's voice until he found what looked to be an old greenhouse off of the kitchen. It looked out over a larger garden in the back with a meadow facing a small river before going farther back towards a densely wooded area.

Lizzie was seated up on a large work area that was battered and scared with age. The kitten was laid out on a towel in front of her. Sammy was kneeling on a stool watching with fascination as an older gentleman to his left tended to the animal.

Sammy looked up as Dean walked in. "Dean come here, ya' gotta see this!"

The older gentleman looked up from what he was doing and smiled warmly at Dean standing in the doorway. His smile turned to a frown as while assessing the boy, his eyes came to rest on the pink T-ball bat still in Dean's hands.

"Lizbeth Greer Owens, what did you do," as he turned back to his granddaughter who cringed visibly.

"Gampa, Tommy Wilkinson had the kitty by his tail and was smackin' him against the wall. I hadda do somethin'. He was wrong to do that; you told me abusin' animals was wrong. I had to stop him Gampa!" Lizzie's bottom lip was quivering and her eyes were impossibly big with unshed tears.

Lizzie's grandfather sighed heavily and tried to reason with Lizzie as he walked over to Dean and relieved him of the offensive weapon.

"Mo chroi, yes, abusing animals is wrong, but so is abusing humans. You should have come to me, and I would have talked to him and his parents."

"It wouldn't 'ave done any good. I followed him home and told him to stop bullying me and Johnny, but he just slammed the door in my face, so I tried to talk to his momma and she ignored me and told me to stop lyin' about her son and to go home. I don't know why people ignore me. I don't like it. Don't like it at all." Lizzie's face got pink and pinched as she got mad. "Is it cuz I'm small? They think I'm younger than I am?" Lizzie asked her grandfather.

"Boidchead, you should not have done that, you know better. Violence is never the answer." He chided.

Lizzie mumbled, "I know Gampa, I'm sorryShesighed, "But, he picked on Johnny awful today and even hit him, and then… then when I saw him with the kitty, I just got so mad." Her little face got all red and scrunched up even further in her fury. The light over the table started turning slightly. Lizzie saw the shifting of the light, blinked and looked up with big eyes at her grandfather. "I'm real sorry Gampa. I'll try hardershe said with a quivering, wet voice.

He smiled warmly, stroked her cheek and pushed a wayward chestnut curl behind her ear. "I know gra." His face turn serious and stern, though his eyes held nothing but affection for the little girl, "You will need to see Father Killian after mass about confession."

"Yes, Gampa," Lizzie mumbled.

Lizzie's grandfather turned to Dean and offered his hand in welcome. "You must be the oldest, Dean Winchester?" he asked. "My name is Thomas Owens. I am Lizbeth's grandfather and this is my home. Would you like to help us treat this kitten?"

"SirDean replied politely and he shook Mr. Owens' hand firmly. "Yes sir, I would like to help if I can."

They treated their little patient, and he slowly started to improve. Lizzie was insistent that he be named Gabriel and though Thomas was reluctant, he was hard pressed to refuse his stoirin.

Later that night, Sammy recounted in detail to his father when he came to check on both of the brothers one last time for the night.

Sammy's voice was awed when he told his father, "Lizzie's just like Mighty Mouse, Dad."

"Really son, why?" he asked curiously.

"She tiny and she swept in to save that poor kitty." John Winchester chuckled at that and Dean laughed aloud.

From then on, Dean called her Mouse because he loved to annoy her. Then, it just fit. She was just like Mighty Mouse, tiny but fearless.

~*~

Dean and Lizzie recounting their first meeting. Finally, Dean just had to ask, "Whatever happened to Gabriel?" Lizzie simply smirks and says, "Go see for yourself. He's in the sunroom, curled up on the couch, sleeping." This just made Dean laugh harder. Lizzie was bound and determined to save that kitten, and she would not accept anything less.

"But how did you come up with her nickname?" Chuck asks, still confused.

"Because she was tiny and fearless, just like Mighty Mouse." Dean smiles warmly. Lizzie blushes and bit her lip as she looks over the table at Dean through her bangs. He laughs and adds, "She damned near took my head off with her bat when I started calling her that, though." Lizzie scowls at him as she stands up to clear the table.

"Who wants dessert?" Lizzie asks to change the subject.

"I know I do just as soon as you explain to me how you know what's goin' on Mouse." Dean says. By the time he finishes speaking she is placing the dishes in the sink and there is a slight clatter as she jerks slightly.

"Going on?" She asks hesitantly as she turns and looks at Dean and then quickly glances to Castiel who slightly before glancing quickly back to Dean watch the entire display.

"You knew!" He at Castiel.

"It was not my story to tell Dean. You would have found your way to her eventually," Castiel states calmly.

"I don't believe this. You both have been lying to me?" Dean accuses.

"No!" Lizzie yells. "You just shut your pie hole before you say something you regret. I was simply waiting to discuss everything with you probably tomorrow. You have had a lot sprung on you today, not to mention since you came _back_. I wanted one night were you could relax just for a little bit and enjoy where you were before that your damned-fool brain of yours started picking away at everything."

"I can't believe you two. What else are you keepin' from me Cas? Lizzie? What other lies have you not told me for my own good? Can't you just give me a straight answer Cas? What is it with you angels, your hoards, your cryptic messages, and turning everyone I love against me? What more do you want from me?" Dean fumes.

"Dean…," Lizzie and Castiel start at the same time. Chuck just back and forth between the three of them.

"No, ya' know what? Screw this! I'm outta here. Screw you and your apocalypse," he points at Castiel, "and I guess, we all know I screwed you too didn't I, sweetheart," he remarks snidely to Lizzie, to which she gasps.

Dean quickly to leave and Lizzie cries out desperately, "August 11th."

"What the hell are you babblin' about?" Dean spins around angrily.

"That was the day the first seal broke." She says as she wilts, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

Dean freezes and goes deathly pale.

Lizzie looks up and walks slowly to him. "I wanted to tell you D, but come on, haven't you had enough? I just wanted for you not to have to stress or worry about what is to come, just for one night."

"How," Dean croaks and clears his throat, "How did you know that?"

"I felt it. The doctors said it was a seizure that caused the coma I was in for about a month, but it was the first seal breaking. It was like hardwired to me. I felt the surge in the dimensions. I never in a million years thought it would be you. Gampa had had visions before you guys came to visit us that first time. He knew you and Sammy would be involved in this in the end. Kind of ironic reallyshesays, tr light tone and failmiserably. "I found it buried in his journals, so that it was recorded, but he made sure I did not find it out of turn until it was time."

"What are you saying?" Dean whispers desperately.

"I'm saying we need to have some pie and get a good night's sleep and then I will explain everything in the morninganswers softly.

"I want to know now," he insists stubbornly.

Lizzie sighs, looks to Castiel for guidance and he nods.

"Don't look at him, look at me, you owe me some answers." Dean snaps. "I don't owe you shit if you keep talkin' to me in that tone, mister," she snaps back.

"I'm sorry," he says quietly. "I just, I don't understand, I am tired of all the double talk from everyone, and the cryptic messages that really mean nothing, and Sammy…" he stops, looks down and clears his throat. "I just want someone to tell me the fuckin' truth for a change!"

Lizzie for everyone to sit at the table. She turns and fixes herself a large glass of water and pulls a Coke out from the fridge. She comes back to her seat and says quietly, "If anyone wants anything while I'm explaining, please feel free to help yourself, because I'm not doing this more than once." She pauses and collects herself, "I don't know where to start." She laughs softly.

"The beginning is generally a good place," Dean snaps.

Lizzie's hand slips behind her, grabs one of Mikey's hacky sacks off the windowsill, and whips it at Dean's head, hitting him between the eyes.

"Damn it Mouse!" he yells as he rubs his forehead.

"I told you to watch your tone with me, Dean." She snaps at him again. He glares at her. "Okay, the beginning…" she starts.

"We established that," Dean gripes.

"No, Dean. _The_ _Beginning_. That is where this all started. Adam, Eve, Tree of Knowledge … ring any bells?" she explains.

"Huh?" Chuck and Dean reply in unison.

"Didn't you ever go to Sunday School? Jeez." Lizzie grumbles.

"Are you shittin' me?" Dean laughs menacingly.

Lizzie glares at him and arches an eyebrow, "Are you gonna let me finish or should I just kick your ass now?"

He slouches back in his chair and opens his arms ithat she has the floor.

"After the serpent tempted Eve to bite the apple and and Adam fell from grace, Eve was beside herself because of their banishment. She prayed day and night seeking forgiveness from God for her transgression and as such, he sent a messenger, Michael. Michael was to lay with Adaya and they would produce a daughter. This child would be entrusted with visions, six hundred and sixty-six visions of the seals that would bind Lucifer's prison. The first born of every generation thereafter conceived of Michael and Adaya's daughter would be entrusted with the duty of guarding the seals. If sixty-six seals were broken, then Lucifer would walk free and bring forth the apocalypse to destroy the world. After Eve's message from Michael, she died within hours. Eve's soul was the first demon."

"Lilith?" Dean asks incredulously.

"Yes," Lizzie stops to drink some water, and continues, "I know you knew parts of that, but it is just easier for me. Adaya bore a daughter, Kizzy. She grew up as normally as possible given the time. From when she was very young, her mother encouraged her to maintain a journal. Initially, it was mundane day-to-day activities of a young girl, but the month following her first menses, she began having the visions."

"Dude, do we really need to know that?" Dean grimaces.

"Actually, yes you do. Since then, the Guardian has shown varying levels of aptitudes since birth; however, their full abilities begin to develop at the onset of puberty. May I continue?" She asks pensively. They all nod.

"Over the course of Kizzy's life, she meticulously and diligently recorded all six hundred and sixty-six prophecies with the final one noted two days before her death. These prophecies were copied only once. The original is located in the vault below the library in town."

"Why the library your town? Chuck asks confused.

"Because her family owns the library numb nuts" Dean gripes. "Go on Lizzie. Why was only one copy made of the prophecies?" He asks, leaning in, warming to the subject, as he is finally getting some answers.

"Security really. The Guardians have carried the original copy throughout the centuries until they settled this town in the 1600s.

"I still don't get …" Chuck asks.

At the same time, Dean and loudly"Lizzie…." He whispers.

"My family name hasn't always been Owens." She grins mischievously.

"Wait, are you saying?" Chuck starts.

Castiel sighs loudly. "She is a daughter of Eve. She is one of the last living direct descendants of Adam and Eve. Her son is the last of the line." His patience clearly worn thin with Chuck obliviousness.

"Oh." Chuck says.

"So, where is the other copy?" Dean asks.

"It was entrusted to Joseph and is believed to have been among the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were almost immediately entombed within the Vatican upon their discovery, we believe. The only thing I can assume is a demon somehow gained access and translated the prophecies" Lizzie offered.

"Joseph who?" Chuck asks.

Lizzie sighs heavily also, and looks over at Castiel, "Are you sure he is your prophet, because he really seems to be clueless."

She turns and glares at Chuck, "Jesus' step-daddy," she growls. "Is that enough information for tonight?" Lizzie asks tiredly.

"There's more?" Dean asks.

Lizzie rolls her eyes at him and gives him a Duh!-look. "Oh yeah, tons. We are talking about a span of time from Creation to present. I really don't think we can get to it all tonight, D."

"But …" Dean .

Lizzie pinches the bridge of her nose, squeezes her eyes close and scrunches up her face in a grimace.

"I think that is it for tonight. You all need your rest. We will continue with this tomorrowCastiel informs everyone. Dean just scowls at Castiel and keeps on going. "I just gotta couple of things I'm not clear on…" he says to Lizzie, all business trying to get to the bottom of a case.

"D, please …" Lizzie says quietly. stops and really looks at how tired, drawn and stressed Lizzie s trying not to . He his chair back walks around the kitchen table and crouches at Lizzie's elbow. He reaches up and clasps her clenched fist in his hand running his thumb over the top until she looks at him. _She's hurting more than she wants us to know. _

"Come on Lizzie, time to get you to bed," as he pulls her chair out and helps her to stand up with him.

"But I need to …" Lizzie starts as she looks around the mess of her kitchen.

"Tomorrow. We will take care of it tomorrow. You need your rest Mouse." He pulls her up and walks her to her room.

She stops him. "I moved into my grandparents' room," she tells him. After her father and grandmother passed away, it just made sense. She wanted a larger room that she could keep Mikey in with her at night and then she just stayed.

He just nods and walks her on to that room instead.

"Um, can I talk to you for a minute," she asks hesitantly. "Of course," he tells her. They walk into the old bedroom, which Dean obviously never been in before, and sit on her bed.

"I really need to tell you one more thing, but I did not want to talk about with the others around. It from when I was in the hospital" begins.

"What happened to you? You said you were in a coma?" Dean asks expectantly.

"Yes, from when the first seal broke initially," she grabs one of his hands for support and to offer comfort. "The only way I can explain it is that it was hardwired to me. The seizure was caused from my brain downloading visions, I guess? When I was in the coma, I saw … things."

"What kinds of things?" he asks clearly becoming uncomfortable.

Lizzie looks up at him sadly and with regret. "I saw you, D. I-I saw your time in hell, _all_ of it. The initial seizure was the first thirty years flashing across my brain, and then the time I was in the coma was the remainder of your time in hell. I woke up when Castiel pulled you out."

Dean turns green and to tremble slightly. His eyes begin to get glassy. Lizzie jumps up from her seat and folds him in her arms, holding tight.

"How, how can you even touch me? L-l-look at me," he whispers wetly into her neck. "How can you, you even … I mean, I don't, please don't …." He tries to push her away weakly too overcome with guilt and shame. She just holds on tighter. She burrows in to his neck seeking to reassure him and her.

She burrows deeper, pulls away and holds his face as she speaks quickly and quietly looking him directly in the eye so he cannot pull away, hoping he will hear and understand her. "I just wanted you to know that I know everything that happened to you from the time the hounds dragged you down until Castiel pulled you free. I understand is all I'm saying. I am here for you if you need me just like always. I have never judged you, nor will I ever for what happened there."

"Lizzie, I don't ….please, this is too much, I can't. I-I-I knew I should never have come here. I don't want to lose you too," he says desperately.

"Oh sweetie, you can never lose me. Don't you get it? I've been yours and you've been mine since we fell out of the tree in the front yard. No matter what happens, ever. D, I just got you back and I'm not letting you go again any time soon. We might not be what we were, but we will always have each other. You, Mikey and Johnny are all I have in this world. Please, just stay here with me, tonight. Like when we were little and the nightmares woke one of us; the other keeping the bad dreams away. I just want you to feel safe for just a little bit; let me do that for you?

Weakly, he nods. He nothing else left in him for a fight. He stripped bare, raw and aching in front of her. She pulls no punches but comforts him nonetheless, as she always had.

She helps him stand and remove his clothes down to his T-shirt and boxers. He sits on the bed while she gets ready for bed, then it is his turn. He comes back, bashfully looks up from his feet to see her sitting on her side of the bed while he fidgets in his underwear.

_I feel like sixteen-year-old virgin again_, he grimaces. She throws back the opposite covers and he crawls in. He just snuggles in close and she holds him, running her fingers through his hair. She softly hums one of those songs he remembers from her grandfather's old records. If Dean right, it was one his favorites. There, in the darkness in a small remote town off the coast of New England, they each sleep deeply and peacefully.

_Apples and sunshine. _

_Safe and warm._

_He is home. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: The Guardian**  
**Author: kateyes085**  
**Pairings:** Dean/OFC; subjective to mention of any and all characters up to and including through 4.22  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Word Count:** 6,178  
**Summary:** When Dean's world has fallen apart, he revisits a place and person from his past for shelter and the strength he needs to go on.  
**Warnings: **Overall, cursing, the usual, blood, guts and mayhem. Eventual heterosexual relationship. There will be underlying religious and occult themes throughout; no offense is intended towards anyone's particular belief system. Some liberties have been taken with storylines, mythological and religious information.  
**Disclaimer**: All stories posted are not for profit and are works of fiction. The Owens are mine.

**Beta**: jolinarmalkshur

1. Mo chroi – My heart

2. Boidchead – Beautiful (n.)

3. gra – love.

4. stoirin – little treasure/darling.

5. Adaya – God's Jewel (Hebrew baby name)

6. Kizzy -- Cinnamon (Hebrew baby name)

7. Gradhag – Beloved (f.)

8. mo mhuirin – my sweet

_Feedback is love and honest criticisms are appreciated._

~*~

Dean woke up feeling more rested than he had felt in a long time, a very long time; in fact, he could not remember feeling this content. The life of a hunter is not very emotionally fulfilling. Connections are few and far between. Lizzie was always at the center. She understood what they did and where they came from. In all honesty, he had never met anyone like her.

Somehow, during the night, he had wrapped himself around her and she just burrowed in farther, feeling safe and content in their closeness. She looked so much younger when she slept, always had. She was always smaller than the other girls her age, though her body filled out earlier than most. She definitely matured faster than the others did.

~*~

Her first period was a nightmare in no short order. He was a man then, all of fourteen years old to her twelve.

He would just as soon face down a nest of rabid vampires with a toothpick than wish that on anyone. A werewolf giving him a hickey was more enticing. Through it all, her grandfather calmed Lizzie and Dean, and explained to Dean why Lizzie was crying because he said he had not noticed anything different about her, and no, she did not look more mature. _What was she talking about?_ He also caught and replaced any and all objects that Lizzie threw at Dean's head that week. Lizzie talked to her grandfather when the dust settled and they went to the doctors. He was not sure what the doctor did, but from then on, things ran a little smoother when her time of the month came around and Dean was there.

He had really kissed her for the first time that summer. Lizzie always went back to school about a week before it was time for them to leave. He was sitting on the stone wall at the corner of her street waiting for her and Johnny as they walked home.

Dean had felt a stampede of butterflies take off whenever he saw Lizzie after being away from her for any length of time, ever since she first kissed him under that old tree outside her house. Over the years, their friendship developed into something more. Now, they sat alone more and talked as well as going for long walks. She would even let him hold her hand. On some occasions, she would even kiss his cheek and hug him too.

That afternoon, puberty struck full force. He had been dealing with hormones for a year and had even discovered the wonders of jerking off in the shower, but this? He had never experienced lust before today. Lizzie and Johnny were simply walking home in the sunshine talking to each other and had not even seen him sitting farther up the road when they came around the corner.

The sun shone on Lizzie and the world stopped. He forgot to breathe and his heart stopped, flipped over in his chest and started again causing all the blood in his body to rush southward. It was so instantaneous; he almost doubled over. The sun shining off her hair set it ablaze in an intricate pattern of reds, gold and brown highlights. She had her school uniform on with her hair modestly pulled up in a ponytail and a navy ribbon to match the blue/green plaid of her skirt that reached just above her knee and her white button up, short sleeve blouse with a navy cardigan she was holding over her arm as it was still warm. She had on black Mary Janes and white knee stockings. It was her normal everyday school attire. There was not anything special about it other than she was in it. He finally understood why older men lusted after schoolgirls. She looked like sin personified and he had never seen anything more erotic than her walking up the street talking to Johnny and sucking on a cherry lollipop.

Lizzie looked up and saw him sitting there. Her face lit up brighter than the sun shining down on her. She ran up and hugged him. "Hi!" she said happily as she kissed his cheek. She smelled good enough to eat and because of his current state, he was tense. She pulled back concerned, "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm uh, yeah, I'm fine, uh … ," Dean stammered and coughed to clear his throat. "How, how was school?" he asked her to change the subject.

"It was fine. Peter Wilkinson is proving to be just as mean as his brother, but other than that, I have homework for the weekend" she cringes.

Johnny finally caught up to them, "Uh, h-h-hi D-Dean," he squeaked as he stuttered.

"Hey Johnny, how're ya' doin' man, you takin' care of my girl at school?" Dean laughed and softly punched Johnny in his arm.

Johnny was starting to grow, finally. He was always short and pudgy with soft brown eyes and messy black hair. He was painfully shy and was picked on a lot. In the last month, he had started to grow a little more and thin out. He was not quite gangly but he still had some baby fat here and there. Johnny winced a little but laughed and rubbed his arm looking a little sad. "Y-y-yeah, of course, or m-m-more like she's lookin' out for me." He smiled sadly.

"I-I-I gotta get goin' Lizzie, walk you tomorrow?" Lizzie looked over at him and smiled softly, "Sure Johnny. Pick me up at our usual time." She hugged him reassuringly.

"Bye Lizzie. B-b-bye Dean" he stuttered as he turned to leave.

"He doesn't have to leave," Dean said.

"No, he has some things to do this afternoon and he knows you will be leaving soon so he doesn't want to intrude, even though he would never say that, I know that is what he is doing." Lizzie offered.

"About that," Dean started. "Dad said we're leavin' on Saturday morning."

"Oh!" Lizzie said kind of sad. She knew this was coming but she still never liked hearing that their summers were coming to an end.

Dean stands up from the wall and looks everywhere but at her, finally settling on his fidgeting hands. "I-I wanted to, um, see, if maybe you, you want to go out or something? Maybe, I don't, I um, we could …" he looked in her eyes and started backpedaling. "Never mind, it was a stupid idea. Just forget it." as he pushes past her so she cannot see how red his face probably is based on how warm it feels.

She stumbles a little back and is kind of dazed before she runs after him and stops in front of him making him stop. "You mean, like on a date?" she asked. Her nose was scrunched up a little in question.

"No, well, kinda, maybe, I don't know, forget I said…" he stuttered and blushed.

"I'd love to." She beamed up at him.

"Really?" He asked smiling brightly and relieved.

"I just gotta ask Gampa first. I'm not sure if it's ok or not, no one's ever asked me to go out with them before, like on a real date kind of, ya' know?" Lizzie told him.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I gotta ask Dad too. I, um, I-I just wanted us to do somethin' nice, I guess, before we gotta leave again." Dean told her.

After much promising and begging on their part, Lizzie's Gampa and Dean's father agree to drive them to the small restaurant a half a block up from the town's movie theater, so they could walk there to see a movie and then walk home. They were to be home no later than ten o'clock. Dean's father lent him the money to take Lizzie out on a real date with the promise of doing extra chores to work off the money. Dean dressed in his Sunday clothes as that was the finest that he had. Lizzie wore a dark green sundress and her beloved Converse sneakers in cream this time.

They had a small, quiet dinner. They talked some though they were both very nervous, held hands and walked to the movie. It was a perfect first date, all that it was supposed to be. Their walk home took them through the park and they stopped to watch the full moon shine over the lake in ripples. It was nice to not have to worry about all the bad things out there.

"Lizzie, I … " Dean said as he turned to her. She turned to him and looked up with trusting eyes. "Can I … kiss you?" Dean asked as he blushed. She stared at him and then his lips and nodded slowly.

His heart was pounding, his hands were sweating and his eyes kept shifting from her eyes to her lips. She stood up on her tiptoes and their lips met softly. She sighed softly into him and he delicately tasted her lips, back and forth, slowly tenderly. Lizzie's arms slowly moved up and looped around his neck while his held her close around her waist. Dean could not resist it any more; he had to taste her. His tongue gently stroked her bottom lip. Lizzie gasped and her lips parted. Dean tentatively stroked his tongue between her lips and into her mouth, tasting her lush uniqueness and encouraged her to do the same. Lizzie's tongue cautiously entered his mouth, testing, tasting, licking, and stroking his tongue with her own, causing Dean to groan and pull her closer and tighter. They fit together perfectly. Lizzie's hand ran through his hair and held on tight as she moaned softly. On and on they kissed slowly becoming more confident and exploring more and more.

A dog barked in the distance and they broke apart gasping. At the same time, Dean panted, "Whoa," and Lizzie gasped, "Oh my". They looked at each other and laughed softly.

"Will you let me do that again?" Dean asked eagerly.

Lizzie just smiled softly and blushed while she nodded. "I think we should get home first, it's getting late," she said, "but, I think you need to put me down first," she giggled.

Dean looked around and indeed, he had lifted her up in his arms and tiny sneakers were dangling in midair. "Oh! Uh, sorry," he muttered as he cringed and gently put her back on the ground.

Lizzie looked up into his eyes and bit her lip as she gently caressed his cheek and softly brushed her lips against his. "Yup, I definitely like the kissing part," she giggled against his mouth to which he chuckled. They turned and walked back to her house and said good night before she ran off to say good night to her grandfather.

Lizzie's face was flushed and her eyes sparkled when she ran in to see her grandfather. He was sitting in his favorite chair in his study reading while he waited up for her. He smiled warmly and had a mischievous glint in his eye. "How was your evening, stoirin?"

"Gampa, it was wonderful," she flounced down dramatically at his feet and fiddled with his shoelace. She bit her lip and looked up at him through her bangs. "He kissed me," she smiled brightly and blushed harder. "A real kiss Gampa, like in the movies," she sighed with all wonder and drama of a preteen.

"I take it you enjoyed it?" he chuckled. She smiled brightly and nodded enthusiastically.

"He did not try to …," Thomas cautiously asked.

"Oh no Gampa! He was a gentleman. He asked and was very polite. He held my hand all night. He opened the doors for me, held my chair at dinner and even stood when I went to the ladies. It was wonderful." Lizzie bubbled with excitement.

"Gra, I know we've talked about this, but now that you have started your monthly …" he started.

"Gampa! We had this talk the time I found the copy of the Karma Sutra in the back of the library when I was six," she exclaimed exasperatedly.

Her grandfather actually blushed having recalled that particularly painful conversation. "Yes, well, I, uh," he stuttered. "I just don't want you rushing into anything you are not ready for. Now, the doctor helped with the influx of the hormones with putting you on medicine for that, but I do not want you to be irresponsible because of it."

"Gampa!" Lizzie exclaimed indignantly balling a fist on her hip. "Do you really think that I would do that? We have talked about what might happen, as I got closer to the ascension. It is always different for the women. You told me that. Although, we never found anything that explained the weather changes happening, but I mean, come on, Gampa! I know what is expected of me and how I have to behave. I am not going to let Dean, or any man, do anything to me until I am ready for it. I promised you that at the doctors."

"I know gra, I just wanted to be sure. Things will be changing now," he said.

"Gampa?" Lizzie sat back and looked at him. He did seem to be a little pale and tired looking over the past week. His thick, dark hair had grayed more through the temples and his laugh lines were more pronounced on his face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just tired. I just want to make sure you remember everything I taught you and I want you to continue with your training schedule as we have it planned," he explained to her.

Lizzie's eye grew wide and watered, she flew into his lap and hugged him tight. "It's time, isn't it? No, no, no Gampa what am I gonna do? No, you can't leave me. Daddy's never here, Gran barely knows I'm alive. Please, please, I don't know if I can do this Gampa. Will they make me leave? I know they don't want me, they never did. I'm only here because of you. Please Gampa," she cried into the shoulder as she had buried her face.

"It is as it should be. You are strong; stronger than any I have ever known. Just don't forget me or what we have planned for. You are my greatest treasure in all the world. Know that I love you beyond measure, Gradhag. Everything is set and in place. This is your home and it always will be. Now, go on to bed, mo mhuirin." Thomas asked her sadly.

"Please don't make me leave, Gampa. I want to be with you. I don't want you to be alone. I will be fine, just don't make me leave," she sniffled. "Sing to me Gampa, just for a little bit," and he did. He never refused her.

Lizzie went to sleep listening to the soft, gentle baritone of her grandfather singing one of his favorite songs and the soothing rhythm of his heart beating in her ear. Lizzie woke again as the hall clock struck midnight for the final time. She woke to silence. He looked so peaceful when she climbed out of his lap. He was not even cold yet. She turned and quietly walked up to her grandparent's room to wake her grandmother.

Dean awoke to his covers moving and his bed dipping. He sat up quickly. A storm was brewing outside. The lightning flashed and he saw Lizzie staring at him tears streaming down her face looking lost and desperate. "Please …" she whispered clutching the edge of his blankets with her tiny hand.

"Lizzie? What's …" he looked on worriedly as he wiped sleep from his eyes.

"Please," she whispered urgently again. "I just need … please just hold me and tell me it will be alright … I can't … I need you to tell me it will be okay … please … I can't … Dean" she cried softly.

Dean moved over and lifted the covers for her, "Of course, come on. What do you need? I don't …" he questioned.

"Just hold me," was all she asked, and he did. He was scared. Something was wrong. She never cried. He held her as she sobbed and cried through most of the night, holding her close as her small body trembled against him.

Outside, a storm the likes of which he had never seen, raged on and on until the early hours of the morning when she finally exhausted her tears and fell into a fitful sleep. Dean watched over her and was always close at her side for the next three days, while the family and town mourned one of their own.

For those three days, the Winchesters and Johnny never left Lizzie alone. She was a sad shell of her vibrant self. The Winchesters left shortly after the funeral. His father had stayed to pay his respects before shuttling his boys off to a new town and new school again.

Dean pulled Johnny aside after the funeral, "You will watch over her, make sure she is okay? I don't want to leave, but I have to."

Johnny, who was always shy, reluctant and timid, grew up in that short span of time. With the steel and fortitude of a true friend, he answered, softly, swiftly and passionately, "Always."

Dean handed over a small piece of paper, "Here is my father's phone number, you call me for anything. Any time, I don't care. Just make sure she is okay. I have never seen her like this and I don't ever want to see it again."

~*~

Dean stealthily moves out of the bed so as not to wake Lizzie. He splashes water on his face and brushes his teeth after going to the bathroom. He goes down the back stairwell that leads to the kitchen. His intention was to clean up the mess from last night but it seems to have already been done. _Must have been Castiel and Chuck,_ he mused.

Just then, the door from the back of the house crashed open into the kitchen.

A mountain of a man folds himself through the doorway carrying two bags of groceries, a stack of mail under his arm and keys hanging out of his mouth. He mumbles to himself as he balances everything, putting the groceries on the table while spitting out the keys, gets the mail and goes through it as he bellows. "Diz, you up? Come on you lazy bum! Get up. I figured with Mikey gone, we could go up to Boston and check out that exhibit we have been wanting to see. Will has to work at the hospital all weekend, so you got me to have your wicked way with, you vixen. Are you up? Wake up you little tramp! Come on, I even got dinner that we can fix later. I know how you get when Mikey's ….." His tirade fizzles as he turned around after grabbing the groceries to put on the old butcher block.

_My God he got huge_, Dean thinks to himself.

Johnny was the only person allowed to call her that ridiculous nickname. She had explained to Dean that the first time they had met at recess on the very first day they had started at St. Mary's, Lizzie had be twirling and spinning around, by herself and she ran into him as he was sitting under a tree watching her. She had just flopped down and giggled that she was sorry, but she liked twirling, it made her dizzy and everything looked different afterward. He should try it, so he did. The only thing he found out was he had an inner ear problem and promptly threw up on her shoes. They were best friends ever since.

Johnny had definitely filled out over the years. He was bigger than Sammy was. He had to be at least six-foot, seven-inches and as wide as a barn. His hair was just as thick and black as ever though now stylishly arranged in a messy disarray. He still had the same soft brown eyes, which were now hardening and becoming cold.

"Hey Johnny …." Dean smiled.

Lizzie awoke to hear Johnny come banging in from his night shift as the town's sheriff. He was her oldest and dearest friend. He was there for all of the milestones of her life. Some days, she did not think she would have gotten through any of it without him.

"_Diz, you up? _(God! She hated that name …)_ Come on you lazy bum! Get up. I figured with Mikey gone, we could go up to Boston and check out that exhibit we have been wanting to see. Will has to work at the hospital all weekend, so you got me to have your wicked way with, you vixen. Are you up? Wake up you little tramp! Come on, I even got dinner that we can fix later. I know how you get when Mikey's ….."_

"_Hey Johnny …."_ She hears Dean say.

"Oh shit!" she exclaimed and scrambled out of bed. Lizzie runs down the stairs as she heard Johnny boom, "You SON OF A BITCH!" Reaching the bottom, she yells, "Johnny, No!" just in time to see him rear back and punch Dean in the jaw causing him to spin backwards into the counter. Johnny lunges for Dean.

Lizzie slips her way in between them. "Johnny, Johnny … come on now. This really is not necessary," she tries pushing him back away from Dean.

Dean gets his second wind, "What the hell is the matter with you?" he yells and lunges for Johnny with Lizzie stuck in between trying to keep them apart.

"ENOUGH!" she screams loudly and powerfully causing the bulb in the overhead light to explode and shatter. "Shit! You're cleaning that up" pointing at Johnny. "I mean it Johnny, Back the Fuck Off!" she bellows shoving ineffectually but he does back up.

Johnny is still fuming. "Do you have ANY idea what you did to her, you bastard? You told me to watch over her. I never thought it would be from you. Get out! Get out of here. You don't belong here any more. You have done enough." Dean is reeling from the venom Johnny is spewing.

"Johnny! Please! Just calm down okay, he didn't know okay. You know that! He never knew about Mikey. Please calm down. I don't need to clean up blood in my kitchen today thank you very much, sir" she tries to reason with him.

"I'm not talking about that!" He snapped. "Well, yes, but no! _Your_ son," he points viciously at Dean, "and I watched helplessly while she laid there lifeless for a month, A MONTH! I was watching my best friend die in front of me and I could do nothing about it. It was all YOUR fault!"

"Johnny," Lizzie whispers as she reaching for him. He crumbles in the middle of her kitchen folding her in his arm as he wept openly and endlessly as she comforts him.

"You've been holding that in for a long time haven't you. Why didn't you tell me?" she asked him softly holding his strong jaw in her tiny hands gently brushing his tears away as they fell.

"How? How am I supposed to tell you? You keep having those visions. You are exhausted all the time and don't try and put up a front with me. Mikey knows too. Whatever's goin' on, it's comin' to a head and you and Dean are at the forefront. I'm sorry, I've been trying to hold it together but when I saw him, I snapped." He looked around Lizzie. "I'm sorry man, it's been a very hard year."

Dean looks a little dazed. "No problem dude. I'm sorry too man. Could we just … um, you know?"

"Yeah I know," Johnny returns and they shake hands. _Men_, Lizzie thinks, _they say everything in saying nothing. They are so exasperating. _

"Look I'm gonna get outta here. I knew this was a bad idea." Dean turned to leave.

"Don't even think about it, Dean Winchester!" Lizzie bellows. "If you even think about leaving again, I swear I will hex you and make you grow a tail. You stay right where you …. Uh-oh …"

She runs around Johnny to front door and peeks out the side window at the door. "Crap," she mutters to herself.

"What? What is it," Dean demands.

"Damn it," she mutters again and turns to look at the two of them. "Don't anyone go outside," she instructed as she ran up the stairs.

They heard the shower go on and off for about one minute and then she was running back down the stairs in less than five minutes showered, wearing black capri pants, her black Converse sneakers with a flowing baby-doll blouse.

By that time, Castiel and Chuck were also standing in the foyer.

"I should go with you," Castiel states.

"Don't be ridiculous, they want you and Chuck, you know that," she frustratedly states.

"Who?" Dean yells in an aggravated tone. He looked outside and saw nothing.

She and Castiel moved the curtain again and peeked from either side. There was a slight flash outside; enough to cause Dean and Johnny peek out the other side window.

"Oh wow! Lizzie whispers. She blinks quickly and stands back staring.

Dean turns to look at her, "Mouse?" he asked.

"Huh?" she replies startled as she looks at Dean and then out the window again, back to Dean turning to Castiel, "You and I are going to be discussing this later." With that, she squares her shoulders, and before she opens it, she turns back to the others, specifically Castiel and Johnny, I want everyone to stay in here, you understand.

"Why," Dean asks. "Because I will have a harder time protecting you out there," she replies.

She gathers her reserves, squares her shoulders and walks through the doorway, cautiously walking down the steps and proceeding down the walkway to about twelve feet from the gate.

Dean watches as she starts talking to no one when Zachariah appears with a couple of his henchmen. There is a light anomaly hovering off towards the back of them. Dean reaches for the doorknob when Castiel puts his hand over Dean's and Johnny puts a huge hand on his shoulder, "Dean trust her. She knows what she is doing."

"They are gonna tear her apart," he seethes.

Johnny just chuckled softly. "You haven't been paying attention, have you?"

Dean just stood there watching immobile between an angel and a giant. _What is she doing?_

~*~

"We have come for the prophet and our wayward angel," Zachariah pompously informed the Lizzie.

"I'm sorry that is not going to be possible," she responses.

"What," he screeches. "Do you know who I am?" he bellows.

"Yes, I am very well aware of who you are Zachariah, and I have to say she was right about you." Lizzie offers.

"Who? What are you blabbering on about?" he asks indignantly.

"Kizzy, she thought you were an ass, well those were not her exact words, but the sentiment was the same."

"Why, you insolent little witch!" There was a flash as Zachariah strikes out his hand and then he yelps when it backfires on him. He looks quite shocked.

"I do apologize for that Zachariah, but with the uncertainty of loyalties of late, I have had to safeguard against all possibilities. The prophet will be cared for and he will continue with his writing of that you can be certain. Castiel is a guest in my home and under my protection, as is Dean." Lizzie informs him.

"You cannot do this. You have your task to perform and that is it." He bellows self-righteously.

"Exactly," Lizzie seethes, "You guys started this free-for-all and now, I have to clean it up. You saw fit that there really weren't many other options available now didn't you? You and Lilith saw to that right nicely I would say?"

The apparition manifests. "What is she talking about Zachariah?"

"I haven't the faintest clue what she is prattling on about Michael. Stupid mud-monkey bitches are always going off about things they know nothing about." Zachariah complains.

There was a huge flash of white light. "You be careful how you speak to my granddaughter, Zachariah. Don't forget your place."

"I know you were involved with all of this. I had a vision of your conversation with Dean when you "explained" how we had gotten here. How could you? God created humans for a reason. All I have seen with the exception of a few angels are that they are self centered, selfish, egotistical and spiteful as the Roman and Greek Gods were. Because of your shortsightedness, I really only have one option where Sam is concerned, now don't I?" she yells. "And you lied to Dean. You told him he and Sam would be together again in Paradise. All you care about is your own ends. They will both die in the end and you know it. You disgust me. Leave and don't come back. You are not welcome here."

"Not without my prophet or Castiel." Zachariah fumes.

"Excuse me? _Your_ prophet? Chuck is not _Your_ prophet, Zachariah. He is a prophet of the Lord; he records the Word of God. Last time I checked you weren't God, though you seem to have the complex. What's the matter? You need your big boy pants pulled up for ya'?"

"I don't have to stand here and … " he sputters indignantly.

"You're right, you don't, so leave. Ba-bye now." Lizzie replies sarcastically.

"Zachariah this is ridiculous. You know they are safer with her than anywhere else." Michael tries to reason with him.

"That is not the point Michael!" Zachariah bellows.

"Brother, you forget yourself." Michael's voice thunders and the Heavens shake.

"He's just angry because he is not running the show any more." Lizzie offered sarcastically. She had enough of playing nice with the big boys.

"How _is_ Mikey doing?" Zachariah remarks snidely.

The skies turned black, the wind howled, lightening flashed, thunder roared and frozen sleet fell. Within a minute, it was sunny and bright again with no signs of foul weather.

"You need to watch yourself Zachariah," Lizzie warns. All pretense of politeness vanishes, in its wake lay the freezing cold depths of Lizzie's unrelenting stare. "Don't cross me, it will end badly for you."

There is another flash of light and another angel appears.

"Jiminy Crickets! I'm gonna have to get you guys name tags." Lizzie grumbled.

Zachariah blanches visibly. "Gabriel, I was just um uh …" he stutters.

"You were just leaving," Gabriel informs him. Zachariah grimaces, scowls, and he and his cohorts vanish.

"Brother, please come outside," Gabriel calls out.

The front door opens and there is a visible scuffle with Johnny holding Dean and Chuck trying to reason with him, while they both try to keep Dean in the house. Castiel simply closes the door and descends the stairs to stand next to Lizzie.

"Are you sure brother?" Gabriel asks Castiel.

"Yes, I want to assist them in their quest. I believe I can be of better service to God here." He informs his brothers.

"Cas, what are you talking about?" Lizzie mutters out of the side of her mouth.

Gabriel turns to Lizzie, "Castiel has chosen his path. He wants to assist in the downfall of Lucifer. We believe he will be pivotal in the journey you, Dean and Sam must undertake. Unlike Zachariah would have you believe, this was not a "sanctioned" apocalypse."

"Oh well that makes me feel a whole lot better," Lizzie snarks. Castiel glares at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm sorry," she promptly apologized. "This last year has been very straining and emotional. And now this, plus … Michael … It was my understanding there were no doctrines concerning reincarnation within the teachings of the Church."

Michael and Gabriel blinked, "Um, uh …. Well, that is you see …"Castiel just chuckles softly. "Don't try and keep up," he offers. "It will get confusing."

"Hey! I'm standing right here, ya' know." Lizzie mutters.

Michael smiles softly and gently strokes her cheek. "You look just like her you know."

"Is that why me and Dean ended up together?" she asks. Lizzie is still astounded about the resemblance between Dean and Michael; they could be twins.

"Some things are just meant to be, child." Michael comments quietly.

Gabriel clears his throat, "We have to go attend to Zachariah's discipline as well as determine his accessories. Castiel, you will pretty much be on your own for now on. Do you understand?"

"Yes Gabriel," he replies.

Before they leave, Michael turns to Lizzie. "My sword?" he asks.

"It is secured, safe and sound. It will be ready when he needs it." Lizzie informs Michael. He smiles softly at her before he departs. There is another flash and they are gone.

Dean comes barreling out of the house with Johnny and Chuck following closely behind him. "What the hell is goin' on?" he yells. "Zach is here, there are flashes then he is gone. Cas gets to come out here and talk to who exactly I don't know. Who were you talking to Lizzie? I want answers and I want them now."

Lizzie and Castiel turned to Dean. "Okay," she says with a smile and walks up to the house.

"Oh, all right then." He fizzles. "I knew you would see it my way," he puffs up. "What just happened?" He whines to Castiel.

"You will need to talk to Lizzie about that." Castiel replies.

"Damn it." Dean growls. Johnny starts laughing. "Shut up! You were no help whatsoever."

They all walk up to the house where Lizzie starts fixing breakfast.

She answers some of Dean's questions and explains what transpired. She did not discuss her private talk with Michael though.

~*~

All yesterday and today, Mikey kept feeling that something was off. His mother had kept something from him. He left the soccer camp early with one of the interim coaches and got a ride back to the school, claiming that he was not feeling well and wanted to go home.

As he turns the corner to his house, he stops short in front of his house. In the driveway sits a 1967 black Chevy Impala. He reaches into the pocket of his jean shorts and clutched its likeness his mother had given him when he was younger. He carried it with him always. She had told him his father's pride and joy was a car that looked just like it.

The screen door opens and closes. Mikey turns to the porch. His mother was standing there holding a glass of lemonade.

She walks quickly down the stairs and comes to the gate. "Are you okay sweetie? You aren't due home until tomorrow."

"I just … I'm uh, Momma?" Mikey stutters. He suddenly feels terrified.

She opens the gate and clasps his hand with her free hand. She walks him to the edge of the driveway and the person working under the hood of the car.

"Dean? I brought you some lemonade. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

He comes out from under hood of the car and wipes his arm across his sweaty forehead. As he turns, he grabs a rag and starts wiping off his hands while he stares at Lizzie and Mikey.

He fidgets with his hands in the rag, as he does not know what to do. He clears his throat and finally offers his hand, "Hello, Michael." His voice sounding sure and confident, but Lizzie knew he was terrified.

Mikey looks at his hand and lets go of his mother's hand and tentatively reaches to shake Dean's hand. He thinks better of it and steps in to hug him around his torso. Strong, solid arms engulf him and he feels safe and secure in his father's arms.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: The Guardian**  
**Author: kateyes085**  
**Pairings:** Dean/OFC; subjective to mention of any and all characters up to and including through 4.22  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Word Count:** 5,405  
**Summary:** When Dean's world has fallen apart, he revisits a place and person from his past for shelter and the strength he needs to go on.  
**Warnings: **Overall, cursing, the usual, blood, guts and mayhem. Eventual heterosexual relationship. There will be underlying religious and occult themes throughout; no offense is intended towards anyone's particular belief system. Some liberties have been taken with storylines, mythological and religious information.  
**Disclaimer**: All stories posted are not for profit and are works of fiction. The Owens are mine.

**Beta**: jolinarmalkshur. *squishes my Jolsie* for all her encouragement and help with this chapter.

1. Striapach – Gaelic for "whore"

2. Grahan – Gaelic for Beloved m.

**Side Note**: Possible squick warning: There is underage sexual exploration in this chapter. No offence is intended.

_Feedback is love and honest criticisms are appreciated._

~*~

Lizzie's eyes water as she sees Mikey hug Dean. She was so worried about this. Mikey always said he wanted to meet Dean, but actually seeing him? That was going to be the true test. She had always been open and honest about her relationship with Dean to Mikey. She never regretted a moment of it. She was only sad that Dean was not there when Mikey was born.

As always, Johnny was. He had fought long and hard with his mother about Lizzie. As far as the town was concerned, her life was ruined; pregnant at 16, honestly. Eventually, Johnny's mother came around especially after Lizzie lost both her father and grandmother within a month of each other and so close to term. Johnny was there for it all; Lamaze, the birth and all of Mikey's firsts.

After Lizzie lost her family, Johnny moved in to help as much as he could before going off to college. Together they struggled; he 18 and she 16, but never backing down. After high school, Johnny was offered a full basketball scholarship to Providence College, which, after much debate he did accept but only after deferring a year so that he could help Lizzie with Mikey, which made her absolutely furious. When he finally did attend, he completed his four-year course of study in three years carrying a double major of Psychology and Political Sciences. He graduated with honors and promptly moved home, joining the local police force as his father had. In time, he became the town's sheriff.

Through it all, Lizzie was always there for him in anyway she could. Life was hard, but they persevered. Lizzie also attended night school part-time, worked at home and raised Mikey while Johnny was away and about the same time he came home, she had completed her education and training and had become a Registered Nurse and worked the off shifts at the local ER from Johnny so that Mikey was cared for. They had created a solid, stable life for Mikey until last year when Lizzie ended up in the hospital after her seizure.

~*~

Mikey pulls away from Dean and looks up at him. He was tall, with broad shoulders. Dean and Mikey had the same color eyes. Further similarities stood out more now that they were next to each other. Mikey's lips were not as full as Dean's. He had insanely long eyelashes like his father and freckles too.

"Um, what do I call you?" Mikey asks hesitantly while he blushes furiously. Dean just chuckles nervously. "Well, your mom and I have talked about that and we both feel that you should call me whatever you are comfortable with? It is really up to you. Dean is fine if that is better for you."

"Do you mind if I call you that for now? I want to call you "Dad," but um, I need, I want…" Mikey stammers.

"It's alright sweetie," Lizzie walks forward, puts her arm around Mikey's waist, and kisses his temple. "Whatever you are comfortable with, you don't have to explain unless you feel you want to. This is a big adjust for all of us, so we have agreed to go forward at your pace, okay? I have some things to take care of in the house before I get ready to start dinner. Do I need to call your coach, Mikey?"

"No. I told them I was not feeling well and got a ride home with Coach Smith." Mikey admits bashfully.

"Dean, why don't you show Mikey what you're working on? I think it will be good for him to start to learn about cars so he can keep up the maintenance on the family car when the time comes." Lizzie instructs them. Dean chuckles at Mikey's excited face. "What happened to your Beetle Bug that your grandfather brought you?"

"It is in the garage in the far back of the property. We needed something more soccer team friendly in the last couple of years. She has been retired. I want Mikey to be able to take care of her for me as I fully intend to pull her back out again when he starts driving." she tells him.

"You're not gonna to make him drive a chick car are you?" Dean teases.

Lizzie jams her fist in her hip and cocks the opposite hip outward. "I've told you that I don't like your sexist attitude towards my baby." she snarks.

When Lizzie was 11, she had found the car that she wanted and did not rest until her grandfather bought it. It was a 1967 yellow convertible Volkswagen Beetle Bug car. It was in sad shape and for over a year the two of them rebuilt it from top to bottom. It was Lizzie's through and through. Dean also helped with the mechanical end when he could, but by that last summer with her grandfather, it was done, stored away and ready for her to drive when the time came.

"I don't mock your macho-manly obsession with your girl now do I? I expect the same respect reciprocated," she informs Dean. "You boys have fun. If you need anything, I will be in the house."

The two worked patiently together as Dean describes what he was doing, shows Mikey and eventually lets him help in changing the Impala's oil and air filter.

When they were almost finished, Johnny comes home from running some errands. "Oh sweet! You still have this car. Man, I used to love this thing. She still looks awesome." Johnny gushed.

"Yeah," Dean says fondly, "she's my baby."

"Hey Uncle Johnny look, Dean had me help him change the oil and the air filter. Pretty cool, huh?" Mikey beams up to his uncle.

"Yeah short-stuff that is pretty cool." Johnny reaches over and tousles his hair affectionately.

"Uncle Johnny! You know I don't like you callin' me that anymore. God! I'm almost 13," he said with his face scrunched in disgust. Dean just kind of blinks and watches the exchange. Johnny laughs and says, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry … hard habit to break."

He watches the look on Dean's face and chuckles. "Scary isn't it. He's like younger, taller version of her isn't he." Dean laughs softly, "Yeah he is."

Johnny's face turns serious as he says to Dean, "Um, hey you know I just wanted to say that I was sorry about well everything, ya' know. You had it rough over the last couple of years." Dean just looked up at Johnny and Johnny continues. "Lizzie's told me. I hope you don't mind? She just, she …" Dean continues for him, "She needed someone to talk to … I get it" he said quietly. Johnny tilts his head to the side_. Is he thinking what I think he's thinking? No, he doesn't think that me and Lizzie … _Johnny ponders as they clean up and go inside to get ready for dinner.

They walk in and Lizzie has her iPod on again. She is dancing around the kitchen while she is cooking singing at the top of her lungs.

All three of them just stop and stare as she sashays around the kitchen spinning, swinging her hips and dancing with the kitchen door …

Spin me up, spin me, and spin me out

_Station love station sends me up and out_

_Is this what life and love is all about_

_I think I think so_

Her head was bopping forward and back and then side to side …

_So, turn it up and burn it_

_There's a hole in your head_

_There's a hole in your head_

_Where the birds can't sing along_

_Does anybody know how the story really goes?_

_Or should we all just hum along_

They just start laughing as she continues singing while she starts cutting up an onion.

_Yea, yea there's a girl I know yea, yea well I love her so_

_Well she's a little of this a little of that_

_She makes my heart go flip-pity flap oh baby, baby I just love her so  
_

She must have heard them because she spins around clutching her knife. "You assholes," she mutters affectionately as she pulls out her ear buds and goes back to cooking with a red face. Johnny walks up behind her laughing and hugs her from beyond and kisses the top of her head, "You know we love your renditions of the Ramones any day Diz." She just elbows him in the stomach grinning as she goes on cutting.

Dean watches the exchange sadly. There was a time when that would have been him, but not anymore.

~*~

Dean's leg jangled nervously as he sat on the stone wall waiting for Lizzie and Johnny to walk home from school. They had arrived earlier than usual this summer as Lizzie's Dad had a strong lead on the thing that had killed Dean's mom, so his father wanted to take out as early as possible.

She and Johnny came around the corner and Dean did a double take. Johnny had definitely grown taller since last summer; he had to be about 5'10 now, about as tall as Dean. Lizzie was walking beside him and they were working on something with their heads bent together writing out a list. Lizzie was biting on her ballpoint pen then asked Johnny something only to go back writing and then biting on that damned pen again.

She looked up from what she was doing and saw him. _Oh God!_ Dean thought. She squealed, dropped everything, and ran to him as he stood up and caught her when she jumped up into his arms, wrapping her legs around him a squeezing tight. _Uh-oh… oh man! Not now! _Dean got a little dizzy from how quickly the blood drained from his brain downward. He just held her close, buried his face in her neck, and breathed deeply.

"I missed you so much," she whispered in his ear before she kissed his cheek and pulled away to look at him. Her eyes were shining brightly and the amethyst flecks were standing out in sharp contrast to the dark hazel of her eyes.

"Lizbeth! Stop making a spectacle of yourself. Say goodbye to Johnny. You need to get your homework done before you start dinner. And for God's sake, button up your blouse. What will the neighbors think?" Lizzie's grandmother was scowling from the porch up the road.

"They wouldn't have even noticed if you didn't screech it up the street you old battle axe," Lizzie muttered under her breath, but she climbed down from Dean and straightened her clothes and buttoned her blouse as requested, "Yes Gran! I will be up in a few minutes to take care of everything." Her grandmother harrumphed and quickly marched back into the house.

"Stupid cow," Lizzie mumbled as Johnny showed up carrying her schoolbooks and backpack.

"I heard," he said when he reached them, "Hey Dean, good to see you man," he smiled widely in greeting. "I'll see you tomorrow, Diz."

She just shoved him as he dodged around Dean laughing, "You Jerk! One of these days I'm so gonna to make you bleed for calling me that. See you tomorrow," she called back fondly as she turned back to Dean and smiled brightly up at him.

Her school attire had not changed much other than now she wore black knee stocking and Docs. Her blouse was unbuttoned still a little bit and he saw that she was wearing a white wife beater underneath and … his mouth dropped open, "Are you wearing a black bra?"

She just giggled with her tongue pressed up against the back of her teeth while she wrinkled her nose nodding, "It drives Gran crazy. She says it makes me look like a slut, but I really don't care, as long she ends up pissed off," she said glaring up at the house.

Dean could not stand it any longer; he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the other side of the tree pushing her up against the bark, hiding Lizzie between the tree and his body.

"D?" Lizzie questioned.

"He reached for her face and quickly kissed her lush cupid bow lips. Lizzie moaned softly and pulled away, "No, no, no … we can't …. I gotta go …"

He just started kissing her again, alternating between nibbling on her bottom lip and running his tongue over it taking the sting away. "Please Lizzie, I missed you …. Couldn't stop thinkin' about … before … I just … please?"

"Dean" she sighed softly into his mouth letting him.

He licked, nibbled and tasted his fill, groaning at the familiarity. Lizzie's arm looped around his neck as he lifted her up and pressed her further into the tree. Her tongue entwined with his, stroking caressing and reveling in the shudders she was making him have.

She pulled back slightly turning her head farther into his as she nipped at his bottom lip causing him to groan and thrust his hips into her where her body gently coddled his erection.

Dean pulled away panting as he kissed and nipped along her cheek, jaw line and down the smooth column of her throat. She wove her fingers through his hair and held him tightly to her moaning softly.

Lizzie heard a door slam up the road. "Oh Jeez!" She panted. "D, come on sweetie, we gotta … oh man that feels good, … you gotta stop, please?" She tightened her fingers in his hair and tugged a little forcefully. He pulls back whining softly in the back of his throat as he pants against her lips. "Later, okay? I promise, later. We just gotta go in so I can get Gran off my back …"

He nodded weakly and licked his lips savoring her taste. She leaned in quickly pressed her lips to his as he set her back down on the ground. They straightened each other's clothes and then they turned to walk to the house, hand in hand.

~*~

Johnny snags pepper from pile of cut veggies. "Oh I almost forgot. Will is stopping by after his shift. I asked him to dinner, is that a problem?"

"Of course not. I'm sure there will be plenty," she laughs.

She looks over at Dean with a little bit of a concerned look on her face. He looks kind of sad as he stares out the window. She turns back to Johnny who sees the exchange.

"I think I'm gonna go jump in the shower before dinner." He says as he backs up to the stairs to go upstairs.

"Yes, please do all of us a favor. Didn't want to say anything but my veggies are curling," she smiles a silent 'thank you' to him to which he just winks and throws the rest of his uneaten pepper at her as he ducks out muttering, "Wench" under his breath.

She turns to Dean and asks, "Are you alright? You got awfully quiet all of a sudden."

"Huh? Oh me? Nah, I'm fine. Just fine." He claps and rubs his hands together, "Can I help?" he offers.

Lizzie is still not convinced but goes along with him. He will tell her eventually, he always does. "You can get the plates down and set the table. That would be a huge help, thanks."

They putter around the kitchen as she makes dinner and Dean helps where he can. "So," he starts, "You and Johnny…."

"Huh? Me and Johnny what?" she asks him confused. "Well you're together, right?" Lizzie dropped her spoon in the risotto with a clunk. "I'm sorry?"

"You and Johnny, you're together. I mean I see the pictures all over the house, he obviously lives here so …. How long have you two crazy kids been together?" Dean reasons.

Lizzie could not hold it in any longer, she started laughing so hard she doubled over and fell on the floor. "You, you think me and JOHNNY ….," she cackles.

"Well, yeah, aren't you? I mean I always knew he had a thing for you growing up. I just want you to know that I'm happy for you. He really is a great guy." Dean continues confused.

"Oh Jesus Christ! You're serious aren't you D? You really believe…" she looks at him and the confused, dazed look on his face. "Wait a minute, you think Johnny had a crush on me while we were growing up?" She asks standing up from the floor and dusting off her backside.

"Um, yeah !?!?" he asks confused.

"Oh sweetie, she walks over to him and puts her hand on his arm. "'m not the one he had a crush on," she tells Dean.

Just then, Johnny comes jogging down from upstairs, "So what did I miss, I heard you laughing. Did you tell her a dirty joke? You know how she gets, Dean. You didn't wet your pants again did you Diz?" He laughs at his own joke.

"Striapach" Lizzie muttered, "No, actually …" she starts.

The front door opens as someone walks in while knocking. "Don't mind me bargin' in do ya' luv?" Johnny's face lights up "Hey babe," Johnny lumbers over and doubles almost in half as he passionately kisses the stranger … the very male stranger.

Dean's mouth hangs to the floor as he stares. Lizzie elbows him in the rib and mouths "Don't be rude!" She delicately and discretely coughs to get their attention.

They pull apart and the stranger turns to Lizzie "Sorry luv, ya' know the big lug can't keep his hands off me." He winks. "Well aren't you fit as fuck. Did ya' bring me a prezzie, luv? Cheers mate." Lizzie and Johnny laugh, and Dean turns white then red, "Uh Lizzie?" he stammers.

"Dean, this is Will; Johnny's _boyfriend_. And I'm sorry my little blonde bomber, he bats for the other side, sweetie." she responds fondly. Will was a little shorter than Dean, lean but well-built. He had wavy, bleached blonde hair and startling blue eyes that took in everything around him keenly.

"Shame that. Well go on wit' ya' then. Heard a lot bout ya', mate." Will sticks his hand out to Dean who shakes it and grins weakly.

"Johnny, I'm sure Will would like to freshen up after his shift. If you are staying the night, Mikey is home early. I would rather not send him to bed with my earplugs thank you." Dean pales again.

"Nah, we'll go round my place lata' on then. We both have tomorrow off ya' know, he winks at Dean who swallows loudly.

"Don't tire Johnny out too much, okay? I need help with some chores when he gets a chance, or you let him up for air," she winks at him.

"I'm standing right here you know." Johnny growls.

"Yes, I do know and that is why its so fun to tease you now go … shoo and keep it PG you two. We have other guests in the house." Johnny chases Will through the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Hey Will" Mikey calls out from upstairs. A few seconds later, he is clomping down the stairs. "Hey mom, do I have time to go to the library? I think I, uh, forgot something there."

"Yes you have some time." Mikey leans down and kisses her on the cheek as he barrels to the back door smiling and slightly waving awkwardly to Dean in passing. "Dinner will be at six. Don't be late," she yells after him as he runs down the back steps.

Lizzie just laughs to herself. "He thinks I don't know he is going to see Hannah Finnegan. She works the weekends at the library. He has a huge crush on her. I think she does on him too. Kinda cute really." She turns back to Dean who files away that little fact.

"He's Gay!" Dean yells in a staged whisper. Lizzie giggles, "Uh-huh."

"You knew," Dean hisses.

"Well, yeah! I've always known."

"How long?" Dean asks.

"Um, since he was 10, I think, at least that was when started to question things. It was more confirmed when he was 16 and he knew for sure. That was when he came out to his mom, his dad was gone by then, but you knew that. That went over … not well, but she loved him and accepted him eventually. He was so devastated when she wouldn't acknowledge that conversation, so sad. I told you I wasn't the one he had a crush on.

"Oh," Dean says. "OOOH! You mean, he, um …" Dean stammers and blushes "… Seriously?"

"Oh yeah! We were both moon-eyed over you," she responds fondly.

~*~

They were wrapped around each other on the couch, panting kissing and arching into each other… too much, not enough….

Dean's hand stroked down Lizzie's side and squeezed at her hip pulling her leg over his hip as they arched into each other. She was sucking and biting at his jugular whimpering against his skin.

Her blouse was hanging open and he reached back up to palm her full breast and play with the pert nipple that was pebbling under the black lace.

"Dean," she whimpered softly. "I want you in me," she whispered in his ear as she bit his earlobe.

"Wh-what?" Dean he squeaked and froze. They had talked about that, but she was insistent that she was not ready for _that_ yet.

"No, no, no … your fingers … I, um, read it." Lizzie stammered.

Dean blinked and pulled back to look at her "… you read it?"

"… Um, yeah … in a book?" she blushed.

"You researched foreplay?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Well, uh, yeah, how else was I gonna find out?" she asked him with that adorable little nose wrinkle that he loved.

"Oh, I don't know … like this? Maybe," he remarked snidely.

"What's your problem?" she huffed, crossing her arms over her breasts. "I thought this was what you wanted?"

"Well it is, but you researched it Mouse." Dean said.

"I just wanted to make you happy," she pouted looking downward as she fiddled with a loose thread from her blouse. "I want this … with you, but … I'm scared, okay. The books say it's gonna hurt and I've felt that thing poking me in the hip and it is a lot bigger than your finger." Lizzie remarked as Dean blushed.

"Well …" he folded just a little bit. She was letting him and they had gone so much farther this summer than the one before.

Last year she had let him kiss her whenever he wanted, which was just about all the time. Just before he left again, they went dinner and a movie just like the previous year, but this year they laid out a blanket in front of that same lake. She let him kiss her and they made out for what seemed like hours. She even let him touch her boob. He was _really_ clean this past year from all the showers he took. That particular memory was the center of almost all of his jack-off fantasies, to date.

… what else did the book say? Dean asked.

Lizzie grinned mischievously, bit her lip and said, "Well, it says you will like it if I touch you here…" she gently placed her hand over his groin, just holding him. Dean gasped, bit his lip, and pushed his groin into her hand greedily.

Lizzie leaned forward and licked his neck wanting nothing more than to taste his salty, spicy-sweet skin. She dragged her tongue up and around his ear as she clasp his head bringing it down towards her. "It also said," she whispered hotly in his ear, "that you would like it a lot if I rubbed and pulled it." Dean whimpered desperately in her neck. "Would you D? Would you like me to rub it for you? The book said it would make it harder, wanna see if it's right D?" she teased.

Lizzie loved that he let her control their pace and that she could bring him to this; could do this for him. She understood that what they had was rare and special and no matter where their life took them, she could give this to him and know she was the only one that he would trust enough to let go. Everything was controlled and regulated in his life, but with Lizzie, he was free.

"Yes, Lizzie, please … rub it, harder … I wanna come so bad …" Lizzie's hand moved faster over his groin. They both arched into each other faster. Lizzie leaned down and gently kissed his shoulder. "Will you wait till I tell you to, D? Can you hold off just a little longer?" she whispered.

"I-I-I don't think …." Dean stuttered. Lizzie squeezed her hand a little harder and continued rubbing harder and faster. "Oh Jesus!" Dean's eyes rolled back. This was so much better than anything he had done to himself.

"Please, will you try for me D? She asked pulling his head out from where it was buried in her neck panting. She gently pressed her lips to his and pulled her hand away as she held his face in her hands, their foreheads pressed together sharing each other's breath as they panted in their excitement. Both of them flushed and aroused to a height neither knew before.

"Lizzie!" Dean whined desperately as his hips continued jerking back and forth.

"The Book said you might like something else too, but I'm not sure. Will you let me?" she asked him quietly.

"Yes, yes, oh God yes, Lizzie!" Dean groaned.

"Do you trust me?" Lizzie asked; Dean shuddered and stared into her eyes intently "Always." he breathed.

She pulled him towards her and kissed him deeply pushing her tongue in his mouth wrapping it around his and sucking it into hers, as her hands stroked down his back and over his butt pulled him towards her pelvis; pulling, grinding and tightening her legs around his hips.

Dean whimpered and groaned into Lizzie's mouth and squeezed is eyes shut. His hands reached out and grabbed the arm of the couch, gripping tighter and tighter as he pushed and pulled himself against her desperately seeking release.

Lizzie squeezed and pulled him closer to her. She gentled her hands, squeezing and pulling at his cheeks encased in his jeans. She ran her finger up the crease of his jeans pressing in at his entrance.

Dean's eyes flew open as he jerked back towards Lizzie's questing fingers and then forward towards her luscious warmth. "Come for me D," she whispered as she blushed up at him with dark lust-filled eyes, yearned to see him unravel in her arms.

Dean silently screamed throwing his head back as a white flash of pleasure shot through his body and out into his jeans hard, fast and intense. His eyes rolled backwards and he blacked out briefly, faintly hearing the door open, followed by "Hey, Dean did you know … " 'squeak' and the thud of a heavy book falling on to the thick carpet.

Dean started regaining consciousness quickly with Lizzie screeching in his ear and pushing him off of her as she tried to scramble out from under him and straighten her clothes and her hair at once. Dean just slumped weakly into the couch for which she glared at him.

"Hi Sammy" she said brightly and breathlessly. "Did you find what you were looking for at the library?" Sammy blanched and blushed so fast he got dizzy as he reached down to pick up the old demonology volume. He stuttered, "Um, uh … excuse me," as he ran up the stairs to his room. The only sound was his retreating footsteps followed by the slamming of his door.

Lizzie scowled at the heap formerly known as Dean Winchester and smacked him in the head. "I told you we should have gone upstairs."

"Well, how was I supposed to know," he mumbled in a slurred sated tone. "He shouldn't 'ave barged in here like that." Dean grumbled weakly.

"In all fairness D, this is the living room. It's not like we were anywhere private, like my room or anything." She pouted and fidgeted with the end of the pant leg of her shorts.

Dean tried to lift his head, but simply just turned it to stare at her. "Where did you learn that?"

"Told you," she mumbled, "in a book," as she looked at the floor. She snuck a glance at him out of the corner of her eye and bit her lip, "Was it alright?" she asked nervously.

Dean just swallowed loudly and nodded yes. "Where is that book?" he asked. She blushed and looked at her lap, "Up in the back of my closet in my room."

Dean slowly stood on wobbly legs and reached for her hand. He pulled her to her feet and hugged her for a minute then the two of them slowly made their way up to her room, hand in hand.

~*~

_I'm sorry …_

_The floor twists and melts, spinning and swirling into a white vortex._

_Dean reaches for Sammy as they stare in horror. He hears a voice, soft and insistent, __**Run Dean, Run. Go now!**_

"_Sammy, let's go…"_

"_Dean …__He's coming …"_

_He hears it again, __**Dean! You have to go now! Before it's too late.**_

_The light gets brighter and brighter__, engulfing the room. A dark ominous cloud shoots out of the floor and swirls, twisting and turning around and around the small chapel dark, the stench of sulfur hangs strongly in the air. _

_**Dean!**__ the voice yells._

"_Sammy, come on …" Dean yells, pulling Sam into action they try to race to the old wooden door which slams shut, locking them in. They reach it banging helplessly to try __to move it, to escape. _

_Sam flies backwards towards the smoky cloud, "Dean …__" He screams desperately stretching and reaching for his brother._

"_Sammy …__" Dean is thrown back against the door immobile. _

_The cloud circles and clears as it flows __lecherously down Sam's throat, choking him with its foul murk. _

_Everything stops. Dean falls to the floor and scrambles back desperately clutching at the hard surface for purchase._

"_Sammy?"_

"_I'm sorry Dean, Sammy has left the building" the creature that wore his brother's face laugh__s deeply and harshly._

"_No Sammy … no" Dean whisper__s as he was engulfed in a flash of white light and felt jerked backwards with a thud. _

_It takes a minute to get his bearings. He was sitting in the passenger seat of the Impala. Castiel and Chuck were in the backseat. The car was driving down the road with no one in the driver's seat. _

_**Grahan**__, the voice says and Dean falls into oblivion._

Dean jerks awake and sits up in bed, gasping, sweaty and shaking. He looks around and remembers where he is. He throws off the covers and walks to the bathroom. He splashes water on his face, grabs a hand towel and dries his face off. He stares at himself in the mirror, scowls menacingly and throws the towel angrily at the mirror marching back into the bedroom and flopping down in the rocker in the corner, staring out the window.

"Sammy…" he whispers sadly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Title: The Guardian**  
**Author: kateyes085**  
**Pairings:** Dean/OFC; subjective to mention of any and all characters up to and including through 4.22  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Word Count:** 3,066  
**Summary:** When Dean's world has fallen apart, he revisits a place and person from his past for shelter and the strength he needs to go on.  
**Warnings: **Overall, cursing, the usual, blood, guts and mayhem. Eventual heterosexual relationship. There will be underlying religious and occult themes throughout; no offense is intended towards anyone's particular belief system. Some liberties have been taken with storylines, mythological and religious information.  
**Disclaimer**: All stories posted are not for profit and are works of fiction. The Owens are mine.

**Beta**: jolinarmalkshur

Latin Sayings:

Ego indulgeo vos – I forgive you (Latin)

Silentium – Silence (Latin)

Eximo – Release (Latin)

Animadverto nusquam, audite nusquam, taceo – see nothing, hear nothing, say nothing (Latin)

ostendo sum – Reveal (Latin)

custos – guardian (Latin)

**Side Note**: Possible squick warning: There is underage sexual exploration in this chapter. No offence is intended.

_Feedback is love and honest criticisms are appreciated._

~*~

They were a month into hunting for Lucifer with still no luck. Dean and Lizzie refused to refer to him as Sam. Their Sammy was lost to them now, as hard as that was to accept, this was now just like any other hunt. Johnny summed it up best, _Yeah, just like any other hunt, except, you know, you have to 'ice' Satan._

Mikey wanted to help, but Lizzie refused to allow him to leave school. Business needed to seem as normal as possible so that suspicions did not arise. She did however allow him to help with whatever research they required. He knew that library better than she did as he was cataloging it to create a cross-referencing database. _He really is too smart for his own good_, she told Dean.

Dean was still leery of Will, but Lizzie explained that Johnny had had an "active" sex life (_I did not need to know that Mouse_, Dean winced), but Will was the only person that he actually allowed to come home. He never would have put either her or Mikey in any danger and she trusted his judgment, so Dean caved to Lizzie on that front. They would take over Mikey's care while Lizzie was away with Dean. All they told Will was that Dean was an old family friend and he needed Lizzie's help with some researching projects for work. Lizzie did all kinds of under the radar research type projects from home all the time and she was on medical leave from work since her hospitalization, so Will never really questioned.

Lizzie packed up her essentials in her SUV and followed Dean around the country trying to find Lucifer, but he was always one step ahead of them. One night in late July they had finally settled in a no-tell motel in rural Kentucky for a few days to restock and plan their next move.

~*~

Lizzie had just finished her shower and was just starting to relax after a long day of research and training. She was beginning her evening meditation ritual when there was a knock at her door.

She grabs her silver stiletto knife and answers the door cautiously. The guys knew this was her time and they usually did not try to disturb her. She would unwind, meditate and call Mikey every night at this time, if they were able.

She opens the door and sees Dean standing there, arms pressed against the door jamb.

"Dean?" she asks. "Is everything alright?" she looks at him closely. Something was off, distorted.

"It is now sweetheart," he replies smugly. He swoops in and kisses her hard and demanding.

"Wha te fu" she mumbles against his mouth and pushes back hard. He leers at her appraisingly.

She holds him back with her hands. "Who, or more precisely, what are you?" She demanded, "I know you're not Dean," she says.

"Oh baby, now don't be like that," he purrs licking his lips suggestively like he was savoring a tender morsel to be devoured.

"Last chance," she says.

"Or what?" he continues to leer.

"Fine, she says stepping back and to the side. He moves forward to walk in and with a simply wave of her hand, "Dean" flies through the room and is pinned to the back wall near the bathroom. "Now are you going to tell me what I want to know?" she asked again.

"Oooo, you are powerful. I wasn't quite sure if it really was you or not. You look just like her. I watched you at check in. It shimmers off of you. Did you know that? It is thick and intoxicating, like the strong, sweet scent of jasmine hanging heavy in the air on warm spring nights. Most of them won't be able to tell, only a few of the older ones can see it." he replies.

"Okay, you're a demon, but why do you look like Dean? You were watching me at check in? Oh, man! You have got to be kidding me. A shape shifter? Seriously? Great! A shape shifter went and got himself be possessed by a demon. Wait a minute, hold that thought Gumby." Lizzie said as she went next door and knocks.

Chuck answer clearly confused, "Hey, isn't this your meditation time? I thought we would be meeting later."

"Uh no, something has come up, is Dean here?" she asks rather impatiently.

"Um, yeah. Dean!" Chuck calls from the door.

"What!" Dean yells as he comes out of the bathroom in sleep pants, bare feet and bare chest. Lizzie could see the droplets of water that still clung and rolled downward. He was towel drying his hair. She noticed his tattoo then, _not a bad idea,_ she thought.

"Uh, Mouse?" Dean asks questioningly.

"Hmmm, oh right," she comes back to the conversation. "Put a shirt on. I need you to come next door, Cas you too. Chuck you stay here." Cas follows her to her room and stops short at the entrance way. He cocks his head to the side.

"The Rogue Angel has come out to play," the demon sneers.

"I know he's a demon and a very old one at that from what he has told me. He possessed a shape shifter." Lizzie explains.

"I can see that," Castiel replies dryly. Lizzie simply scowls at him. _Der!_ She thought.

"How is Dean? Did he miss me? I'd be hurt if he forgot about me." the demon with Dean's face chuckles darkly.

Lizzie freezes and turns deathly pale. "Alistair?" she questions, "but how, Sammy …"

"I've got friends in high, or in this case low places," he laughs.

Lizzie's eyes get impossibly big. "Dean," she murmurs, "Cas you've got to stall him for a minute."

"We do not have time Lizbeth." Castiel informs her. _Crap on a cracker!_, she thinks. "Silentium," Lizzie casts a silencing spell quickly over Alistair. "Dean cannot know who he is."

Dean knocks and walks into Lizzie's room, stopping abruptly. "Dude! Why do they keep finding me? I mean I know what a hansom devil I really am, but come on." Dean looks closer at the situation at hand, "Uh, does someone want to explain why he is hanging suspended against the wall?" The shape shifter's eyes move to Lizzie.

"Oops," Lizzie mutters under her breath. Dean looks at her and she blushes. "Can we discuss that later please?" she mumbles.

Dean just shrugs all business. "Don't matter, we'll get the info we need out of you." The shape shifter laughs with no sound. Dean walks up to him and examines him closer. Checking that he could not in fact be moved and he looks at Lizzie questioningly. "Cat gotcha tongue?" Dean asks. The shape shifter again looks at Lizzie.

She stomps her foot and glares at them. "You are so not helping at all," she growls at the shape shifter.

"What did you do to him Mouse?" Dean asked.

"I just restrained him and silenced him that is all." she replied offhandedly.

"How?" Dean persists.

"Do you really want to know? Fine, I will tell you later, we have more important things to worry about now." Lizzie answered impatiently.

"What is more important than you lying to me?" Dean growls.

"I have not lied to you. You knew that I studied the Craft. You knew I was telepathic and you knew about the telekinesis. I have never lied to you about that. I just try to keep a tight lid on it so things don't get out of control, but with where things are headed, I have lessened my control on the wards and charms in place so I have freer access to my abilities." She assures him.

"But, you've never cast before. Have you cast on me?" He demands.

"No! Of course not! I know how you feel about witches and magic. I have never made an excuse for who and what I am and I am not about to now. Will you just listen to me for a …" she tried to continue.

"You are still holding him there without even ..." He continued angrily.

"Dean! It's Alistair." Lizzie blurts out.

"Wh-What?" He mumbles clearly shaken.

"Alistair possessed a shape shifter and took your form. He showed up at my door and kissed me pretending to be you." She explains.

Dean storms farther into the room, "You kissed her?" He yells angrily crowding into the shape shifter's face. Alistair only shook with laughter.

~*~

"_I hate the way that Wilkinson kid stares at you" Dean growled against her throat as he pushed her small body further into wall of the dark alcove behind the school. "You're mine! Don't they get it?" _

"_D," Lizzie whispered arching and holding his head tightly to her "Only yours," she whimpered. "Why," she gasped and tried again, "Why would I want any of them, only you make me feel like this. Please, can you do it again with your fingers? It felt so good. I can't wait till later tonight, please?" She wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed against his hardness. _

_Dean's leather jacket was open and hid most of her lower half from view. His hand skated up her creamy thigh and he held his hand over the burning heat of her center. He moved her panties out of the way and slipped his finger inside and moved it back and forth while stroking her clit with his thumb. She whimpered and moaned riding his hand trying to be quiet so they would not draw attention. _

_He held her effortless against him as his fingers caressed the crease between her butt cheeks over her panties. "Some day, I will take you here, rubbing hard against her entrance. Will you let me Lizzie?" Dean whispered against her lips. _

"_Yes, yes, Oh God yes, whatever you want, just don't stop D," she whispered urgently, "I'm so close. Please baby, just a little more, Oh God!" Dean pulled out the two fingers he had worked into her, causing her to whine quietly at the loss. He sucked on them tasting her. "Oh Lizzie, you taste so good, mmmm, I could make a meal outta ya'. You taste spicy and sweet, just like those peach pies you make me." He kissed her urgently taken away by her as always. "That's what I'm gonna call you when you let me do all these nasty things to you in the dark, Lizzie. I'm gonna call you my plump lil' Peach, will you let me baby? He growled huskily in her ear. _

"_Yes, Oh God, please D?" she whimpered. Lizzie came undone in his arms as he palmed her breast and roughly twisted her nipple giving her just what she needed to go over the edge._

~*~

"Will you give me some credit, D? I knew it was not you kissing me. Eximo," Lizzie releases Alistair from the spell. "Tell him,"

"Dean, Dean, Dean… I have to say what a little firecracker you picked up along the way. She was just …" Dean's fist slams into his jaw dislocating it.

"Dean!" both Castiel and Lizzie yell at him.

"Dean Michael Winchester, if you honestly think that I would _not_ know the difference between you and _anyone_ else kissing me, then I …" Dean swallows Lizzie's tirade as he angrily crushes her mouth with his. He had to stop this craziness. Talking about kissing when that was all he has wanted to do since he saw her run down the steps to his awaiting arms. Lizzie mumbles, whimpers, and sighs into his mouth silently giving him what he needed.

In the distance, they hear Alistair crudely goading Dean on. They were not really paying any attention to him. Lizzie places her hand in Alistair's chest and whispered against Dean's lips, "Animadverto nusquam, audite nusquam, taceo."

On and on they kiss, starved for each other. Dean shudders and pulls her closer, "No," Lizzie whispers as she pulls away gasping and panting. She looks up glass-eyed into Dean's expressive gaze.

"I-I'm sorry," Dean pulls back keeping her at arms length. This was not what they wanted any more, right? They hadn't talked about it, but … his hands were shaking slightly.

Lizzie smiles shyly up at him "No not that … No, his kisses are nothing like yours. He may be wearing your face, but _HE_ is nothing at all like you." She blushes and Dean blushes too. "But, I don't think now is the time or the place." Lizzie tells him.

Castiel must have vanished because he was no longer in the room.

Lizzie pondered this enigma, "He is a very old demon. That much we know. I could find out who he really was, before. I have not done it before but have researched it, if you want me to."

"What would you do?" Dean asks.

"The only way I could describe it that you would understand would be like a Vulcan mind meld."

"Alright," Dean tells her.

"Eximo," she casts.

Alistair looks back and forth between them, "What was that? Oh Dean, just let me have one taste of her. She seems so sweet. It is not fair that you don't share after all we have been through." Dean rears back and smashes his nose in. _Man that feels good_, he thinks.

"Dean, I need to do this please. Do you want to stay or go? I am not sure what the outcome will be." Lizzie tells him.

"I'm staying. I will sit back by the door to give you room." He tells her.

Lizzie approaches Alistair and manipulates his body so he is kneeling on the floor. He was getting nervous but was trying not to show it since he could not move his body of its own accord.

Lizzie stood back and said "Castiel". The angel appeared. "Yes, Lizbeth." "I would like you here in case I need help." she tells him.

"What are you going to do Custos?" Alistair leers.

"Why? You're not nervous of lil' ol me are you?" She asks all feigned innocence. Alistair looks between her, Castiel and Dean sitting by the door looking bored with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Please try and hold still Alistair; this might hurt … a bit." She places her right thumb under the corner of his left eye. Alistair's eyes grow wide, "No!" he yells. Lizzie simply stretches her middle finger to rest against his eyebrow and murmurs, "Ostendo sum." Lizzie gasps and Alistair yells in outrage.

They stand there like that for several minutes. Images flashed before Lizzie's mind; horrible, barbaric, cruel and inhuman images that make her flinch, but onward she presses. Alistair finally gasps, whimpers, and tears flood his eyes as they fall freely. Lizzie jerks backwards, "Oh my God!" she whispers and stares in horror at Alistair who crumples unencumbered from Lizzie's mental grasp.

"Lizzie," Dean reaches her and places his hand on her back in concern as he glares at Alistair. She is trembling slightly. "I-I'm fine. He remembers," she says in awe. "He remembers what it was to be human. After all these centuries, he still remembers." Alistair wails like a wounded animal and tries to lunge for Lizzie. She simply raises her hand and he flies back to the wall with a sharp thud from cracking his head against it. "Animadverto nusquam, audite nusquam, taceo," Lizzie murmurs again.

"He's Caine." She says quietly.

"Huh?" was Dean's response. She spun around and glares up at him. "Honestly, did you not pay any attention in Sunday school? He's Caine; Caine slew Abel, Adam and Eve's children."

Lizzie turns to Castiel, "Did you know?"

"It was suspected, but never confirmed," was his response.

Lizzie walks over to Alistair and places her hand over his heart, "Eximo," she says softly. She reached up and tucked a stray hair over his ear and said quietly, "Say good bye Alistair."

"Wh-what?" he mumbles.

"Ego indulgeo vos" she says quietly. Castiel's eyes grow wide, slightly. A bright, iridescent light glows brightly out of Alistair's eyes and mouth. There is a rush of air and he slumps lifelessly to the floor. She looks sadly at the body. "Can you dispose of him, Dean?"

"Mouse? What did you do?" he stares dumfounded.

"I sent him home," was all she said. "He will not be coming back this time."  
Dean blinks and looks at Lizzie warily. He goes and gets Chuck. The two of them remove the body and dispose of it somewhere. Lizzie did not really care where, as long as it was not around her any longer.

"Why did you forgive him Lizbeth?" Castiel asked her when they were alone.

"I wanted him to hurt so much Cas, so much; but nothing I could ever do to him would even come close. He could do far more damage to himself than I ever could. Besides, he had been through enough, centuries of torment, regret and guilt. That is what created the creature that tortured Dean. It was not who he really and truly was." Lizzie told him sadly. "Dean, can't know, Cas. He will never understand."

"I understand," Castiel told her.

There was a knock on the door. The cleaning lady was on the other side. She hands Lizzie an envelope, turns and walks away. Lizzie opens the envelope and out fell a small toy car; a black 1967 Chevy Impala.


End file.
